Vehicle security and customization

ABSTRACT

Techniques are described for enhancing security, customization, and/or group interaction of users in vehicles. For instance, a mobile device of an owner of a vehicle may be registered in a manner that allows the mobile device to control operation of the vehicle and authorize guest user operation of the vehicle. In addition, the vehicle may be adapted to receive preferred vehicle settings from mobile devices positioned in the vehicle, such as a mobile device of a guest user, and customize the vehicle settings based on the retrieved preferences. Further, the vehicle may be equipped to communicate with in-pavement vehicle detection systems and enable interaction in an ad hoc group with other vehicles positioned to connect to the in-pavement vehicle detection systems.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/674,920, filed Nov. 12, 2012, which is incorporated byreference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to vehicle security and customization

BACKGROUND

Contactless payment transactions are well known in the art and areenabled by short-range wireless technologies such as Near FieldCommunications (NFC). NFC is a set of standards for communicationprotocols which enable NFC compliant devices to exchange data in veryclose proximity. NFC is based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)standards including ISO/IEC 14443, ISO/IEC 18092 and Felicity Card(FeliCa). NFC standards are governed by the NFC Forum founded by Nokia,Philips and Sony in 2004 and the Forum now has over 160 membersworldwide. The NFC Forum is commissioned to promote the NFC standardsand certify devices for NFC compliance worldwide.

NFC allows two-way communication between NFC devices. In addition, anunpowered NFC chip (“tag”) can also be read by NFC devices, therebyenabling one-way communication as well.

NFC devices are usually used in contactless payment systems. Forexample, Google Wallet is a payment service and an Android app by Googleto allow users to store credit card, debit card and store loyalty dataon a virtual wallet—e.g., as an app downloadable to an NFC-enabledAndroid Smartphone—so that the user can simply tap the AndroidSmartphone at an NFC-enabled payment terminal to complete a salestransaction. The user can also bring his NFC-enabled Smartphone to veryclose proximity of an NFC-enabled payment terminal to complete thepayment as well.

NFC technology is ideal for contactless payment due to its securityfeatures (matching encrypted security code and transporting access key)and extremely short transmission range (approximately 4 cm to 20 cmmaximum).

At the point of sale, NFC-enabled payment terminals in the marketinclude “PayPass” from MasterCard. MasterCard PayPass is a Europay,MasterCard and Visa (EMV) compatible, “contactless” payment featurebased on the ISO/IEC 14443 standard that provides users with a simplerway to pay by tapping an NFC-enabled payment device such as anNFC-enabled Smartphone, on a point-of-sale payment terminal readerrather than swiping or inserting a card. There are an estimated 300,000PayPass payment terminals deployed.

In September 2007, Visa introduced Visa PayWave, also a contactlesspayment technology feature that allows cardholders to wave their card infront of contactless payment terminals without the need to physicallyswipe or insert the card into a point-of-sale device. This is similar tothe MasterCard PayPass service, with both using NFC or RFID technology.

In addition to Google Wallet, Verizon also offers, in partnership withAT&T and T-Mobile, a similar service called ISIS.

Known contactless payment systems require the availability of anNFC-enabled payment terminal at the point of sale. Such paymentterminals are generally located at checkout areas in retail stores andare deployed in fixed locations. Users must physically bring anNFC-enabled payment device, such as an NFC-enabled Smartphone, to veryclose proximity of an NFC payment terminal or physically tap anNFC-enabled Smartphone on an NFC payment terminal in order to completethe transaction.

However, there are many situations where it may not be convenient forthe user to bring an NFC-enabled Smartphone to an NFC-enabled paymentterminal at a retail store. For example, when a user is driving a carand wishes to make payment from the NFC-enabled Smartphone, the userwill be unable to complete such a transaction while inside a vehicle.Such needs may exist when the user, who is inside a motor vehicle,wishes to purchase with his NFC-enabled Smartphone parking, drive-inmovies, bridge tolls or even food at a drive-through of a fast foodrestaurant. This disadvantage discourages wider adoption of thecontactless payment technology.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a vehicle includes a body carriage having rotatablewheels mounted thereunder. The rotatable wheels are configured to rollalong a surface of a pavement and each of the rotatable wheels include atire mounted on a rim. The vehicle also includes a vehicle extensionsystem configured to communicate wirelessly with in-pavement vehicledetection systems embedded on or below pavement on which the rotatablewheels are configured to roll. The vehicle communication extensionsystem includes one or more road contact transceivers arranged so thatat least one of the one or more road contact transceivers is within apredetermined distance from an in-pavement vehicle detection systembased on the rotatable wheels being located on pavement at a positionabove the in-pavement vehicle detection system. The one or more roadcontact transceivers are configured to transmit information to andreceive information from the in-pavement vehicle detection system basedon at least one of the one or more road contact transceivers beingwithin the predetermined distance from the in-pavement vehicle detectionsystem. The vehicle communication extension system also includes one ormore wireless transceivers that are located in the vehicle and that areconfigured to communicate with personal mobile communication devicesthat are located within a passenger compartment of the vehicle. Thevehicle communication extension system further includes extensioncircuitry electrically connected to the one or more road contacttransceivers and the one or more wireless transceivers. The extensioncircuitry is configured to manage communications between the one or moreroad contact transceivers, the one or more wireless transceivers,in-pavement vehicle detection systems, and personal mobile communicationdevices. In addition, the extension circuitry is configured to detect aguest personal mobile communication device that is positioned towirelessly communicate with at least one of the one or more wirelesstransceivers. The guest personal mobile communication device is acommunication device of a guest user that is attempting to use thevehicle. The extension circuitry is configured to, based on detection ofthe guest personal mobile communication device, monitor for presence ofan owner personal mobile communication device in position to wirelesslycommunicate with at least one of the one or more wireless transceivers.The owner personal mobile communication device has been registered tothe extension circuitry as a device that is able to use the vehicle andauthorize guests to use the vehicle. Further, the extension circuitry isconfigured to, based on the monitoring for presence of the ownerpersonal mobile communication device, detect the owner personal mobilecommunication device in position to wirelessly communicate with at leastone of the one or more wireless transceivers and, based on detection ofthe owner personal mobile communication device, authorize use of thevehicle by the guest personal mobile communication device and receive,from the guest personal mobile communication device through at least oneof the one or more wireless transceivers, guest vehicle settings storedby the guest personal mobile communication device. The guest vehiclesettings define preferences of the guest user for settings associatedwith use of the vehicle and settings associated with communicationsexchanged with in-pavement vehicle detection systems by the guestpersonal mobile communication device. The extension circuitry also isconfigured to, after authorization of use of the vehicle by the guestpersonal mobile communication device, detect a passenger personal mobilecommunication device that is positioned to wirelessly communicate withat least one of the one or more wireless transceivers. The passengerpersonal mobile communication device is a communication device of apassenger user who is located in the passenger compartment of thevehicle. The extension circuitry is further configured to, based ondetection of the passenger personal mobile communication device,receive, from the passenger personal mobile communication device throughat least one of the one or more wireless transceivers, passenger vehiclesettings stored by the passenger personal mobile communication device.The passenger vehicle settings define preferences of the passenger userfor settings associated with use of the vehicle and settings associatedwith communications exchanged with in-pavement vehicle detection systemsby the passenger personal mobile communication device. And, theextension circuitry is configured to access, from electronic storage,vehicle rules that define permissible settings for the vehicle andevaluate the received guest vehicle settings and the received passengervehicle settings with respect to the accessed vehicle rules. Theaccessed vehicle rules have been defined based on communication with theowner personal mobile communication device through at least one of theone or more wireless transceivers. The extension circuitry is configuredto, based on the evaluation, determine current vehicle settings forsettings associated with use of the vehicle by the guest user and thepassenger user and settings associated with communications exchangedwith in-pavement vehicle detection systems by the guest personal mobilecommunication device and the passenger personal mobile communicationdevice. The current vehicle settings meet a subset of the preferences ofthe guest user and a subset of the preferences of the passenger user.The extension circuitry is configured to monitor for an ability toconnect with the in-pavement vehicle detection system through at leastone of the one or more road contact transceivers and, based on themonitoring for the ability to communicate with the in-pavement vehicledetection system, detect the ability to communicate with the in-pavementvehicle detection system. The in-pavement vehicle detection system isable to simultaneously connect with multiple vehicles through roadcontact transceivers. In addition, the extension circuitry is configuredto, based on detection of the ability to communicate with thein-pavement vehicle detection system, add, in accordance with thecurrent vehicle settings, the vehicle to an ad hoc social group thatincludes the multiple vehicles simultaneously connected to thein-pavement vehicle detection system through road contact transceivers.Further, the extension circuitry is configured to, based on the currentvehicle settings, enable the passenger personal mobile communicationdevice to interact with the ad hoc social group without revealingidentifying information associated with the passenger personal mobilecommunication device and automatically, without user intervention,disconnect from the ad hoc social group based on the vehicle moving to aposition in which the one or more road contact transceivers are outsideof the predetermined distance from the in-pavement vehicle detectionsystem.

In another aspect, a method may include one or more of the operationsrecited above. In yet another aspect, a computer-readable storage mediummay be operable to cause a processor to perform one or more of theoperations described above.

Implementations may include one or more of the following features. Forexample, the extension circuitry may be configured to enable thepassenger personal mobile communication device to engage in a voicecommunication session that involves the multiple vehicles simultaneouslyconnected to the in-pavement vehicle detection system through roadcontact transceivers. In this example, the voice communication sessionmay be arranged through the in-pavement vehicle detection system withoutrevealing telephone numbers of any of personal mobile communicationdevice used to engage in the voice communication session.

In addition, the extension circuitry may be configured to enable thepassenger personal mobile communication device to engage in a videocommunication session that involves the multiple vehicles simultaneouslyconnected to the in-pavement vehicle detection system through roadcontact transceivers. The video communication session may be arrangedthrough the in-pavement vehicle detection system without revealingtelephone numbers of any of personal mobile communication device used toengage in the video communication session. Also, the extension circuitrymay be configured to enable the passenger personal mobile communicationdevice to engage in a text-messaging communication session that involvesthe multiple vehicles simultaneously connected to the in-pavementvehicle detection system through road contact transceivers. Thetext-messaging communication session may be arranged through thein-pavement vehicle detection system without revealing telephone numbersof any of personal mobile communication device used to engage in thevideo communication session.

The extension circuitry may be configured to automatically authorize useof the vehicle by the guest personal mobile communication device upondetection of the owner personal mobile communication device withoutrequiring any input be provided at the owner personal mobilecommunication device. The extension circuitry may be configured to send,to the owner personal mobile communication device through at least oneof the one or more wireless transceivers, a communication requestingauthorization of the guest personal mobile communication device andreceive, from the owner personal mobile communication device through atleast one of the one or more wireless transceivers, a responseindicating that the owner personal mobile communication device receivedinput authorizing use of the vehicle by the guest personal mobilecommunication device.

Further, the extension circuitry may be configured to access, fromelectronic storage, vehicle rules that define permissible ranges ofvalues for settings associated with use of the vehicle. The extensioncircuitry may be configured to access, from electronic storage, vehiclerules that define what information about the vehicle is available forsending in communications exchanged with in-pavement vehicle detectionsystems.

In some implementations, the extension circuitry may be configured toaccess, from electronic storage, vehicle rules that define prioritycriteria for resolving inconsistencies in preferred vehicle settingsreceived from different personal mobile communication devices. In theseimplementations, the priority criteria indicating that preferredsettings of a driver are given priority over preferred settings of apassenger for driver-related vehicle settings, that preferred settingsof a passenger are given priority over preferred settings of a driverfor passenger-related vehicle settings, and that preferred settings of adriver are given priority over preferred settings of a passenger forgeneral vehicle settings that are not specific to a driver or apassenger.

In some examples, the extension circuitry may be configured to access,from electronic storage, vehicle rules that define best fit criteria forresolving inconsistencies in preferred vehicle settings received fromdifferent personal mobile communication devices. In these examples, thebest fit criteria may be designed to result in one or more compromisesettings that represent a best fit in matching all received settingswithout exactly matching any received setting. Also, the extensioncircuitry may be configured to access, from electronic storage, vehiclerules that adapt vehicle settings to a closest setting based onimpermissible settings being received.

In some implementations, the extension circuitry may be configured toautomatically, without user intervention, add the vehicle to the ad hocsocial group. In these implementations, the ad hoc social group may bearranged in a closed configuration in which all communications betweenvehicles pass through the in-pavement vehicle detection system and onlyvehicles positioned to connect to the in-pavement vehicle detectionsystem through a road contact transceiver are part of the ad hoc socialgroup.

In some examples, the extension circuitry may be configured to determinethat only the passenger personal mobile communication device is set toparticipate in ad hoc social groups based on the evaluation revealingthat the received guest vehicle settings indicate that the guest userdoes not wish to participate in ad hoc social groups and that thereceived passenger vehicle settings indicate that the passenger userwishes to participate in ad hoc social groups. In these examples, theextension circuitry may be configured to determine that the currentvehicle settings indicate that the passenger personal mobilecommunication device is set to participate in ad hoc social groups andthe guest personal mobile communication device is not set to participatein ad hoc social groups and enable only the passenger personal mobilecommunication device to interact with the ad hoc social group based onthe determination that the current vehicle settings indicate that thepassenger personal mobile communication device is set to participate inad hoc social groups and the guest personal mobile communication deviceis not set to participate in ad hoc social groups.

In some implementations, the extension circuitry may be configured todetermine that the guest personal mobile communication device and thepassenger personal mobile communication device are set to participate inad hoc social groups based on the evaluation revealing that the receivedguest vehicle settings indicate that the guest user wishes toparticipate in ad hoc social groups and that the received passengervehicle settings indicate that the passenger user wishes to participatein ad hoc social groups. In these implementations, the extensioncircuitry may be configured to determine that the current vehiclesettings indicate that the passenger personal mobile communicationdevice is set to participate in ad hoc social groups and the guestpersonal mobile communication device is set to participate in ad hocsocial groups and enable both the guest personal mobile communicationdevice and the passenger personal mobile communication device tointeract with the ad hoc social group based on the determination thatthe current vehicle settings indicate that the passenger personal mobilecommunication device is set to participate in ad hoc social groups andthe guest personal mobile communication device is set to participate inad hoc social groups.

The extension circuitry may be configured to present the guest personalmobile communication device and the passenger personal mobilecommunication device to the ad hoc social as only the vehicle such thatcommunications sent from the guest personal mobile communication deviceappear to the ad hoc social group in a same manner as communicationssent from the passenger personal mobile communication device to the adhoc social group. The extension circuitry also may be configured topresent the guest personal mobile communication device and the passengerpersonal mobile communication device to the ad hoc social as separatedevices within the vehicle such that communications sent from the guestpersonal mobile communication device appear to the ad hoc social groupin a different manner than communications sent from the passengerpersonal mobile communication device to the ad hoc social group.

In some examples, the in-pavement vehicle detection system may be afirst in-pavement vehicle detection system of a first type, the ad hocsocial group may be a first ad hoc social group, and the extensioncircuitry may be configured to determine that the first in-pavementvehicle detection system has the first type and enable the passengerpersonal mobile communication device to interact with the first ad hocsocial group based on the determination that the first in-pavementvehicle detection system has the first type. In these examples, theextension circuitry may be configured to detect the ability tocommunicate with a second in-pavement vehicle detection system of asecond type and, based on detection of the ability to communicate withthe second in-pavement vehicle detection system, add, in accordance withthe current vehicle settings, the vehicle to a second ad hoc socialgroup that includes multiple vehicles simultaneously connected to thesecond in-pavement vehicle detection system through road contacttransceivers. The second in-pavement vehicle detection system may bedifferent than the first in-pavement vehicle detection system and thesecond type may be different than the first type. In addition, theextension circuitry may be configured to, based on detection of theability to communicate with the second in-pavement vehicle detectionsystem, determine that the second in-pavement vehicle detection systemhas the second type and enable the guest personal mobile communicationdevice to interact with the second ad hoc social group based on thedetermination that the second in-pavement vehicle detection system hasthe second type.

In some implementations, the extension circuitry may be configured togenerate a first interface appropriate for interacting with the first adhoc social group based on capabilities of the first in-pavement vehicledetection system and send, to the passenger personal mobilecommunication device through at least one of the one or more wirelesstransceivers, the generated first interface. In these implementations,the extension circuitry may be configured to generate a second interfaceappropriate for interacting with the second ad hoc social group based oncapabilities of the second in-pavement vehicle detection system andsend, to the guest personal mobile communication device through at leastone of the one or more wireless transceivers, the generated secondinterface, which is different than the first interface.

In some implementations, a system incorporates mobile payment technologyinto a motor vehicle in order to allow a motorist (or user) to enjoy thebenefits of mobile payment from the convenience of the motorist's motorvehicle. The system transforms a user's motor vehicle into a personalmobile payment terminal, and the user can make mobile payment from theconvenience of the motor vehicle regardless of location. The system mayinclude an implementation whereby a merchant mobile payment system isprovided to detect the presence of a motor vehicle of a customer,identify the identity of the customer through the motor vehicle equippedwith a Mobile Payment Extension Kit (MPEK), and deliver paymentinformation to the customer. The customer's motor vehicle equipped witha MPEK allows the customer to simply tap an NFC-enabled device, such asan NFC-enabled Smartphone, on the dashboard of the vehicle (or any othertouch point so equipped inside the customer's vehicle) to instantlyobtain payment information and authorize payment from the car. Inaddition, the customer may also receive additional information from themerchant including advertisement information on the NFC-enabled devicewhile making payment, which can create additional revenue opportunitiesfor the merchant.

In another aspect, a vehicular-based mobile payment system includes amerchant system for sending and receiving information; a vehicledetection system connected to the merchant system; a vehicle comprisinga mobile payment extension system, wherein the mobile payment extensionsystem is adapted to communicate with the merchant system via thevehicle detection system; and a mobile device for sending and receivinginformation, wherein the mobile device is adapted to communicate withthe mobile payment extension system of the vehicle.

In some examples, the merchant system comprises a merchant server formanagement of sales transactions between a customer and a merchant.

In some implementations, the information includes one from the groupconsisting of sales information, parking information, parking rates, themaximum number of hours allowed to park, discounts, parking tips, astreet cleaning schedule, a weather forecast, a visual itemized list ofall of the merchant's products ordered by a customer, advertisements,targeted advertisements and nearby businesses.

In some examples, the vehicle detection system comprises a mechanism todetect presence of a component of the vehicle comprising the mobilepayment extension system and extract identifying information on anidentity of a customer inside the vehicle.

In some implementations, the vehicle detection system communicates withthe mobile payment extension system by utilizing near fieldcommunication (NFC) compliant devices.

In some examples, the vehicle detection system comprises a vehicularroadway comprising an NFC chip.

In some implementations, the mobile payment extension system comprises avehicle part comprising an NFC chip.

In some examples, the mobile payment extension system comprises a roadcontact module, an extension circuitry module and a dashboard module.

In some implementations, the road contact module comprises a near fieldcommunication (NFC) chip.

In some examples, the NFC chip comprises information about the vehicleand information about a consumer.

In some implementations, the extension circuitry module is electricallyconnected to the road contact module and the dashboard module andcomprises a computer processor, a memory and software to control andmanage communications between the dashboard module and the merchantsystem.

In some examples, the dashboard module comprises a near fieldcommunication (NFC) chip adapted for communication with an NFC-enabledmobile device.

In yet another aspect, a vehicular-based security system includes avehicle comprising a mobile communication system and a security systemoperatively connected with an ignition or starter system of the vehicle;and a mobile device for sending and receiving information, wherein themobile device is adapted to communicate with the mobile communicationsystem of the vehicle, and the mobile communication system is adapted tocommunicate with the security system.

In some examples, each of the mobile communication system and mobiledevice is adapted for near field communications (NFC).

In some implementations, the mobile device comprises a system forallowing a user to sign-in to the security system and unlock the vehicleignition or starter system by engaging NFC between the mobile device andmobile communication system.

In some examples, the mobile communication system comprises an NFCtarget and wherein the vehicle is started by tapping the mobile deviceto the target.

In some implementations, the mobile communication system comprises asystem for validating a credential of the user stored on the mobiledevice before unlocking the vehicle ignition or starter system.

In yet another aspect, a method for providing vehicular-based mobilepayment includes connecting a vehicle detection system to a merchantsystem; connecting a mobile payment extension system to a vehicle;sending and receiving information between the merchant system and thevehicle via the vehicle detection system and the mobile paymentextension system; and sending and receiving information via a mobiledevice, wherein the mobile device is adapted to communicate with themobile payment extension system of the vehicle.

In some examples, the merchant system comprises a merchant server formanagement of sales transactions between a customer and a merchant.

In some implementations, the information includes one from the groupconsisting of sales information, parking information, parking rates, themaximum number of hours allowed to park, discounts, parking tips, astreet cleaning schedule, a weather forecast, a visual itemized list ofall of the merchant's products ordered by a customer, advertisements,targeted advertisements and nearby businesses.

In some examples, the vehicle detection system comprises a mechanism todetect presence of a component of the vehicle comprising the mobilepayment extension system and extract identifying information on anidentity of a customer inside the vehicle.

In some implementations, the vehicle detection system communicates withthe mobile payment extension system by utilizing near fieldcommunication (NFC) compliant devices.

In some examples, the vehicle detection system comprises a vehicularroadway comprising an NFC chip.

In some implementations, the mobile payment extension system comprises avehicle part comprising an NFC chip.

In some examples, the mobile payment extension system comprises a roadcontact module, an extension circuitry module and a dashboard module.

In some implementations, the road contact module comprises a near fieldcommunication (NFC) chip.

In some examples, the NFC chip comprises information about the vehicleand information about a consumer.

In some implementations, the extension circuitry module is electricallyconnected to the road contact module and the dashboard module andcomprises a computer processor, a memory and software to control andmanage communications between the dashboard module and the merchantsystem.

In some examples, the dashboard module comprises a near fieldcommunication (NFC) chip adapted for communication with an NFC-enabledmobile device.

In yet another aspect, a method for providing vehicular-based securityincludes providing a vehicle with a mobile communication system and asecurity system operatively connected with an ignition or starter systemof the vehicle; and providing a mobile device for sending and receivinginformation, wherein the mobile device is adapted to communicate withthe mobile communication system of the vehicle, and the mobilecommunication system is adapted to communicate with the security system.

In some implementations, each of the mobile communication system andmobile device is adapted for near field communications (NFC).

In some examples, the mobile device comprises a system for allowing auser to sign-in to the security system and unlock the vehicle ignitionor starter system by engaging NFC between the mobile device and mobilecommunication system.

In some implementations, the mobile communication system comprises anNFC target and wherein the vehicle is started by tapping the mobiledevice to the target.

In some examples, the mobile communication system comprises a system forvalidating a credential of the user stored on the mobile device beforeunlocking the vehicle ignition or starter system.

In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumstoring one or more programs configured to be executed by one or moreprocessing units at a computer includes instructions for connecting avehicle detection system to a merchant system; connecting a mobilepayment extension system to a vehicle; sending and receiving informationbetween the merchant system and the vehicle via the vehicle detectionsystem and the mobile payment extension system; and sending andreceiving information via a mobile device, wherein the mobile device isadapted to communicate with the mobile payment extension system of thevehicle.

In yet another aspect, a user interface is adapted for a vehicular-basedmobile payment system that includes a merchant system for sending andreceiving information; a vehicle detection system connected to themerchant system; a vehicle comprising a mobile payment extension system,wherein the mobile payment extension system is adapted to communicatewith the merchant system via the vehicle detection system; and a mobiledevice for sending and receiving information, wherein the mobile deviceis adapted to communicate with the mobile payment extension system ofthe vehicle, wherein a user communicates with the mobile device via theuser interface displayed on the mobile device.

In some implementations, the user interface communicates with the mobilepayment extension system, which controls information displayed on theuser interface.

In some examples, the user interface comprises a system for managingsecurity settings.

In some implementations, the user interface comprises a system forenabling and disabling mobile payment capability.

In some examples, the user interface comprises a system for managingadvertising messages.

In some implementations, the user interface comprises a system formanaging user profile settings.

In some examples, the user interface comprises a system to supportmultiple users.

In some implementations, the system to support multiple users comprisesa means for personalizing temperature inside the vehicle, a means forpersonalizing settings of audio equipment, a means for personalizingseat adjustment and positioning, and a means for personalizing aposition of a mirror attached to the vehicle.

In some examples, the extension circuitry module comprises a securitysystem operatively connected with an ignition or starter system of thevehicle.

In some implementations, the user interface comprises a system forexchanging information between a merchant and a user of the userinterface.

In some examples, the system for exchanging information comprises aTCP/IP communication protocol.

In some implementations, the system for exchanging information comprisesa session initiation protocol (SIP).

In some examples, the system for exchanging information allows the userto block or filter specified types of information from the merchant.

In some implementations, the system for exchanging information isadapted to transmit promotional messages from the merchant to the user.

In some examples, the system for exchanging information is adapted toprompt a user to select a product or service offered by the merchant.

In some implementations, the system for exchanging information isadapted to transmit the user's selections of a product or service to themerchant system, to calculate a total payment due to the merchant, totransmit a payment notice to the mobile device via the dashboard module.

In some examples, the system for exchanging information is adapted totransmit targeted information based on information stored in theextension circuitry module.

In some implementations, the information stored in the extensioncircuitry module comprises at least one of a model of the user'svehicle, a make of the user's vehicle, an age of the user's vehicle, theuser's selections of the product or service, a location of the merchant,a date, a time, traffic related information relating to the merchant'slocation and community or public service messages based on themerchant's location.

In some examples, the targeted information comprises an electroniccoupon.

In some implementations, the user interface comprises a system fordelivering ad hoc real-time voice communications between a merchant andthe user.

In some examples, communication protocols between the mobile device andthe merchant server are based on the protocol of SIP.

In some implementations, communication protocols between the mobiledevice and the merchant server are based on the protocols of TCP/IP.

In some examples, the mobile device and the merchant server are engagedin voice-over-IP communications.

In some implementations, an SIP User Agent (UA) software module isincorporated into the mobile device and the merchant server.

In some examples, the user interface comprises a system for deliveringad hoc real-time video communications between a merchant and the user.

In some implementations, the user interface comprises a system fordelivering ad hoc real-time live chat or instant messagingcommunications between a merchant and the user.

In some examples, the user is prompted to remit payment for goods orservices from the merchant before the goods are provided or before theservices are rendered.

In some implementations, the user is prompted to remit payment for goodsor services from the merchant after the goods are provided or after theservices are rendered.

In some examples, the merchant server starts a timer to time theduration of a service, and wherein the user stops the timer by tappingthe mobile device to a device inside the user's vehicle that is incommunication with the merchant server so as to notify the merchantserver of the user's return.

In some implementations, the service is a parking service.

In some examples, payment is made between a merchant and a user by anaction of the user.

In some implementations, final payment authorization is performed whenthe user taps the mobile device on to a device inside the user's vehicleor places the mobile device in close proximity to the device inside theuser's vehicle.

In some examples, the user interface comprises a means for filteringunwanted advertising messages.

In some implementations, the user interface comprises a screen layout, amenu bar and icon placement, and wherein the screen layout, the menubar, and the icon placement are determined by a user's settings and/orby services or products offered by the merchant.

In yet another aspect, provided herein is a method for vehicular-basedmobile payment, the method comprising: sending and receiving informationvia a merchant system; connecting a vehicle detection system to themerchant system; connecting a mobile payment extension system to avehicle, wherein the mobile payment extension system is adapted tocommunicate with the merchant system via the vehicle detection system;sending and receiving information via a mobile device, wherein themobile device is adapted to communicate with the mobile paymentextension system of the vehicle; providing a user interface on themobile device; and displaying information to the user via the userinterface.

In some implementations, the user interface communicates with the mobilepayment extension system, which controls information displayed on theuser interface.

In some examples, the user interface comprises a system for managingsecurity settings.

In some implementations, the user interface comprises a system forenabling and disabling mobile payment capability.

In some examples, the user interface comprises a system for managingadvertising messages.

In some implementations, the user interface comprises a system formanaging user profile settings.

In some examples, the user interface comprises a system to supportmultiple users.

In some implementations, the system to support multiple users comprisesa means for personalizing temperature inside the vehicle, a means forpersonalizing settings of audio equipment, a means for personalizingseat adjustment and positioning, and a means for personalizing aposition of a mirror attached to the vehicle.

In some implementations, the mobile payment extension system comprises asecurity system operatively connected with an ignition or starter systemof the vehicle.

In some examples, the user interface comprises a system for exchanginginformation between a merchant and a user of the user interface.

In some implementations, the system for exchanging information comprisesa TCP/IP communication protocol.

In some examples, the system for exchanging information comprises asession initiation protocol (SIP).

In some implementations, the system for exchanging information allowsthe user to block or filter specified types of information from themerchant.

In some examples, the system for exchanging information is adapted totransmit promotional messages from the merchant to the user.

In some implementations, the system for exchanging information isadapted to prompt a user to select a product or service offered by themerchant.

In some examples, the system for exchanging information is adapted totransmit the user's selections of a product or service to the merchantsystem, to calculate a total payment due to the merchant, to transmit apayment notice to the mobile device via the dashboard module.

In some implementations, the system for exchanging information isadapted to transmit targeted information based on information stored inthe extension circuitry module.

In some examples, the information stored in the extension circuitrymodule comprises at least one of a model of the user's vehicle, a makeof the user's vehicle, an age of the user's vehicle, the user'sselections of the product or service, a location of the merchant, adate, a time, traffic related information relating to the merchant'slocation and community or public service messages based on themerchant's location.

In some implementations, the targeted information comprises anelectronic coupon.

In some examples, the user interface comprises a system for deliveringad hoc real-time voice communications between a merchant and the user.

In some implementations, communication protocols between the mobiledevice and the merchant server are based on the protocol of SIP.

In some examples, communication protocols between the mobile device andthe merchant server are based on the protocols of TCP/IP.

In some implementations, the mobile device and the merchant server areengaged in voice-over-IP communications.

In some examples, an SIP User Agent (UA) software module is incorporatedinto the mobile device and the merchant server.

In some implementations, the user interface comprises a system fordelivering ad hoc real-time video communications between a merchant andthe user.

In some examples, the user interface comprises a system for deliveringad hoc real-time live chat or instant messaging communications between amerchant and the user.

In some implementations, the user is prompted to remit payment for goodsor services from the merchant before the goods are provided or beforethe services are rendered.

In some examples, the user is prompted to remit payment for goods orservices from the merchant after the goods are provided or after theservices are rendered.

In some implementations, the merchant server starts a timer to time theduration of a service, and wherein the user stops the timer by tappingthe mobile device to a device inside the user's vehicle that is incommunication with the merchant server so as to notify the merchantserver of the user's return.

In some examples, the service is a parking service.

In some implementations, payment is made between a merchant and a userby an action of the user.

In some examples, final payment authorization is performed when the usertaps the mobile device on to a device inside the user's vehicle orplaces the mobile device in close proximity to the device inside theuser's vehicle.

In yet another aspect, provided herein is a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs configuredto be executed by one or more processing units at a computer comprisinginstructions for: sending and receiving information via a merchantsystem; sending and receiving information between a vehicle detectionsystem and the merchant system; sending and receiving informationbetween a mobile payment extension system and a vehicle, wherein themobile payment extension system is adapted to communicate with themerchant system via the vehicle detection system; sending and receivinginformation via a mobile device, wherein the mobile device is adapted tocommunicate with the mobile payment extension system of the vehicle;providing a user interface on the mobile device; and displayinginformation to the user via the user interface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a dashboard interface of a vehicle;

FIG. 2 depicts an embodiment for a merchant to deploy Merchant RoadDetection Circuitry embedded on a surface of a road or a parking lot;

FIG. 2A illustrates one embodiment of a Mobile Payment Extension Kit;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a communication path between theMerchant Server, Merchant Road Detection Circuitry, Road Contact Module,Extension Circuitry Module, Dashboard Module and user's NFC-enabledpayment device such as an NFC-enabled Smartphone;

FIG. 3A illustrates an example implementation of VoIP communicationbetween the user's NFC-enabled Smartphone and a Merchant Server usingSIP technology;

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of execution of software inside the ExtensionCircuitry Module;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an algorithm of the Merchant Server;

FIG. 6 depicts an example of the Road Contact Module provided so as toproportionally protrude into a space between an edge of a wheel and atire;

FIG. 7 depicts an example of a valve-mounted Road Contact Module; and

FIG. 8 depicts an example of a band-mounted Road Contact Module.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Techniques are described for enhancing security, customization, and/orgroup interaction of users in vehicles. For example, an owner of avehicle may register his or her mobile device (e.g., smartphone) withcircuitry of the vehicle such that the circuitry of the vehicle is ableto detect presence of the owner's mobile device for security purposes.In this example, the owner may, using his or her mobile device which isconnected to the circuitry of the vehicle through a short-range wirelesscommunication port (e.g., an NFC port), establish rules for using theowner's vehicle and have the rules stored on the circuitry of thevehicle. When the owner of the vehicle wants to authorize a guest to usethe vehicle, the owner presents his or her mobile device along with amobile device (e.g., smartphone) of the guest and authorizes use of thevehicle by the guest. At this point, the guest is registered as anauthorized user of the vehicle and the circuitry of the vehicleretrieves, from the guest mobile device over a short-range wirelessconnection, preferred vehicle settings of the guest user. The circuitryof the vehicle evaluates the preferred settings of the guest against therules setup by the owner and adapts the vehicle settings to thosepreferred by the guest user where the evaluation indicates that therules permit the preferred guest settings. Where the rules do not permitthe preferred guest settings (or for settings that have no guestpreference), the circuitry of the vehicle uses default vehicle settingsdefined by the owner. In this regard, security of the vehicle may beenhanced by requiring the owner mobile device to be present to authorizea guest user and by preventing the guest user from implementing settingsthat are against the desire of the owner. In addition, the convenienceof the guest user may be enhanced because his or her preferred settingsare automatically retrieved from his or her mobile device and adapted tothe vehicle. These types of techniques may be useful in a rental carbusiness where the rental car agent uses a mobile device to provide arenter with authorization to use a rental car and the rental carautomatically retrieves the renter's preferred settings from therenter's mobile device and adapts the rental car to settings preferredby the renter where permissible.

In addition, the vehicle may support simultaneous users. For instance,after the guest user has been authorized, a passenger may join the guestuser in the vehicle. The circuitry of the vehicle detects a mobiledevice of the passenger using a short-range wireless transceiver in thevehicle and retrieves the preferred settings of the passenger userthrough communications exchanged between the short-range wirelesstransceiver and a short-range wireless communication port on the mobiledevice of the passenger. The circuitry of the vehicle then evaluates thepassenger's preferred settings against the rules established by theowner and the settings preferred by the guest (or driver) user. Thecircuitry of the vehicle adapts the settings of the vehicle to thepassenger's preferred settings where the settings are permissible andnot inconsistent with the settings preferred by the guest (or driver)user. As one example, the passenger's preferred settings may include atemperature setting. In this example, the circuitry of the vehicleautomatically applies the temperature setting based on a determinationthat the temperature setting is permitted by the owner's rules and theguest (or driver) user has no preference for temperature defined.However, if the guest (or driver) user has a preference for temperaturedefined that is inconsistent with the temperature setting preferred bythe passenger, then the circuitry of the vehicle rejects the passenger'stemperature setting or applies it to only passenger side controls if thevehicle has separate driver and passenger temperature settings.

When rejecting a setting, the vehicle may make a recommendation orautomatically adjust another setting for the passenger to helpcompensate for the rejection of the setting. For instance, when thepassenger temperature setting is rejected because it is higher than theguest (or driver) user's preference, the circuitry of the vehicle maysend the mobile device of the passenger a recommendation to turn on aseat heater (which the passenger user may activate through his or hermobile device or another control in the vehicle) or may automaticallyturn on the seat heater to help enhance the passenger's convenience dueto the lower than preferred temperature setting. Using these techniques,the electronic circuitry of the vehicle interacts with multiple userssimultaneously and attempts to adapt the vehicle settings to best meetthe preferences of all simultaneous users of the vehicle.

Further, the electronic circuitry of the vehicle may support ad hocsocial groups that facilitate interaction between users with vehicleslocated in the same general location. As described throughout thisdisclosure, vehicles include road contact transceivers that enable thevehicles to communicate with in-pavement vehicle detection systems. Insome implementations, an in-pavement vehicle detection system may havemultiple points that enable a vehicle to connect to the in-pavementvehicle detection system. For example, an in-pavement vehicle detectionsystem for a parking lot or parking garage may have a point ofconnection at each space in the lot or garage. In this example, asvehicles move into and out of the parking spaces, a dynamic social groupof users currently parked in the lot or garage may automatically formand enable communications (e.g., text, video, voice, etc.) betweenmembers in the group. The group is limited to those mobile devicesassociated with vehicles that are presently parked in the lot or garageand connected to the in-pavement vehicle detection system and one ormore merchant operators associated with the in-pavement vehicledetection system. In addition, because the mobile devices may be usedmerely as input/output devices, the communications of the group may flowthrough the in-pavement vehicle detection system without revealingcommunication information of any of the mobile devices participating,which helps protect privacy of users participating in the ad hoc socialgroup. In this regard, the only information perceived by other membersof the group may be an identifier for the vehicle or the identifier forthe parking space where the vehicle is parked or even just an arbitraryidentifier assigned as vehicles connect to the group (which may preserveidentification and location privacy, but still confirm the communicationis with a vehicle presently located in the lot or garage). By forming adhoc social groups of vehicles located in the same area, interactionbetween users in nearby vehicles may be enhanced. For instance, a userparked in a parking garage may inform other users parked in the garageof a dangerous situation (e.g., that a stairway is wet) or that the useris leaving with time remaining on his or her meter, which could helpsave another user just joining the group money by moving his or her carto that space. When the in-pavement vehicle detection system is locatedin a parking lot at a rest stop, travelers may interact with one anotherto share traffic information, interesting experiences in their travels,and/or exchange any information that may be useful for travelling orthat may help drivers with similar interests connect. In the rental carscenario, an ad hoc social group may form with renters that just rentedcars from the same agency and may enable the renters to identify otherpeople travelling to the same location and coordinate their travel(e.g., a renter that is very familiar with the area may offer to leadanother renter that is unfamiliar with the area to their commondestination).

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a dashboard interface 10 of a vehicle.The dashboard interface 10 may be used in implementing theabove-described techniques for enhancing security, customization, and/orgroup interaction of users in vehicles. The dashboard interface 10includes a steering wheel 20, an interactive display 30, a drivertemperature setting control 40, a passenger temperature setting control42, and three wireless transceivers 50, 52, and 54. The steering wheel20 is used to steer the vehicle that includes the dashboard interface10. The interactive display 30 displays information related to operationand/or settings of the vehicle and is capable of receiving user inputthat controls operations and/or settings of the vehicle. For instance,the interactive display 30 may be a touch screen display that isconfigured to receive touch input. In some implementations, the display30 may not be used and information shown as being displayed on thedisplay 30 may be displayed on a user's mobile device. The drivertemperature setting control 40 displays a temperature setting for adriver side of the passenger compartment of the vehicle and is capableof receiving input to change the driver temperature setting. Thepassenger temperature setting control 42 displays a temperature settingfor a passenger side of the passenger compartment of the vehicle and iscapable of receiving input to change the passenger temperature setting.

The wireless transceivers 50, 52, and 54 are configured to receiveshort-range wireless communications from mobile devices located nearbyand transmit short-range wireless communications to mobile deviceslocated nearby. The wireless transceivers 50, 52, and 54 may be any typeof wireless transceiver described throughout this disclosure and mayinclude NFC transceivers that receive and transmit signals in accordancewith the NFC protocol. The wireless transceiver 50 is designated as asecurity transceiver configured to interact with a mobile device thatauthorizes usage of the vehicle, the wireless transceiver 52 isdesignated as a driver transceiver configured to interact with a mobiledevice of a driver in the vehicle, and the wireless transceiver 54 isdesignated as a passenger transceiver configured to interact with amobile device of a passenger in the vehicle. Although the wirelesstransceivers 50, 52, and 54 are shown as being located in the dashboardof the vehicle, the wireless transceivers 50, 52, and 54 may bepositioned at other locations of the vehicle (e.g., in a center consoleof the vehicle). In addition, the vehicle may include more or fewerwireless transceivers (e.g., additional transceivers for passengers inthe backseat of the vehicle or a single wireless transceiver that isconfigured to communicate with mobile devices throughout the passengercompartment and distinguish among all of the devices present).

As shown, an owner mobile device 60 (e.g., a smartphone) is positionednearby the wireless transceiver 50 and establishes a short-rangewireless connection with the wireless transceiver 50 such that the ownermobile device 60 is able to exchange communications with electroniccircuitry that controls the vehicle and dashboard interface 10. A guestmobile device 70 (e.g., a smartphone) is positioned nearby the wirelesstransceiver 52 and establishes a short-range wireless connection withthe wireless transceiver 52 such that the guest mobile device 70 is ableto exchange communications with electronic circuitry that controls thevehicle and dashboard interface 10. A passenger mobile device 80 (e.g.,a smartphone) is positioned nearby the wireless transceiver 54 andestablishes a short-range wireless connection with the wirelesstransceiver 54 such that the passenger mobile device 80 is able toexchange communications with electronic circuitry that controls thevehicle and dashboard interface 10. Although the mobile devices 60, 70,and 80 are illustrated as being simultaneously connected to the wirelesstransceivers 50, 52, and 54, the mobile devices 60, 70, and 80 maysequentially connect to the wireless transceivers 50, 52, and 54 andneed not be continuously connected to the wireless transceivers 50, 52,and 54 for their presence to be taken into account.

In this example, the owner mobile device 60 connects to the wirelesstransceiver 50 designated as the security transceiver. The securitytransceiver is designed to receive communications that activate thevehicle. For instance, when the owner of the vehicle purchases thevehicle, the owner registers one or more mobile devices with thewireless transceiver 50. The registration may require the owner topresent a key to an interface of the dashboard in addition to tappingthe device being registered to the wireless transceiver 50. The key isused to confirm that the person registering the owner mobile device isactually authorized to perform the registration. Upon registration, thecircuitry of the vehicle stores identifying information for the one ormore owner mobile devices for later identification. In the example shownin FIG. 1, the owner mobile device 60 was previously registered with thevehicle and the circuitry of the vehicle recognizes the owner mobiledevice 60 by comparing identification information received through thewireless transceiver 50 from the owner mobile device 60 with identifyinginformation stored for registered devices.

Based on recognition of the owner mobile device 60, the circuitry of thevehicle activates the vehicle for use. For example, the circuitry of thevehicle begins monitoring for mobile devices in proximity to thewireless transceiver 52 and the wireless transceiver 54. In thisexample, the guest mobile device 70 connects through the wirelesstransceiver 52 and the passenger mobile device 80 connects through thewireless transceiver 54. As mentioned above, the passenger mobile device80 may connect through the wireless transceiver 54 after the guestmobile device 70 connects through the wireless transceiver 52.

Based on the guest mobile device 70 connecting through the wirelesstransceiver 52, the circuitry of the vehicle detects the guest mobiledevice 70 as the driver, receives identifying information from the guestmobile device 70, and compares the identifying information to knowndrivers of the vehicle (e.g., the one or more owner mobile devices).Based on the comparison, the circuitry of the vehicle determines thatthe guest mobile device 70 is not a known driver and treats the guestmobile device 70 a guest driver. In this regard, the circuitry requiresauthorization of an owner mobile device to allow the guest driver tooperate the vehicle. The authorization may require that the owner mobiledevice 60 be connected to the wireless transceiver 50 simultaneouslywith the guest mobile device 70 being connected to the wirelesstransceiver 52.

In some implementations, the circuitry of the vehicle may solicit userinput from the owner mobile device 60 to confirm authorization. In theseimplementations, the user input may specify parameters of use of thevehicle allowed by the guest user, such as the amount of time the guestuser is allowed to operate the vehicle.

Based on authorization from the owner mobile device 60, the circuitry ofthe vehicle registers the guest user as a driver. The registration maybe temporary (e.g., limited to a threshold period of time, such as onehour, one day, one week, etc.) and may or may not allow the guest userto activate the vehicle and begin driving without the presence of theowner mobile device 60. In this regard, the owner retains control overthe vehicle and may be provided with enhanced security over theoperation of his or her vehicle.

In addition, upon registration of the guest mobile device 70, thecircuitry requests, through the wireless transceiver 52, preferredvehicle settings (if any) stored on the guest mobile device 70. In thisexample, the guest mobile device 70 accesses preferred vehicle settingsfor the guest from its electronic storage and transmits the accessedsettings to the wireless transceiver 52. The preferred vehicle settingsmay include settings related to use and comfort of the vehicle (e.g.,temperature settings, seat position settings, mirror settings, audiosystem settings, navigation system settings, etc.) and settings relatedto electronic communications exchanged with other devices through thedashboard interface (e.g., settings that indicate whether the user wouldlike to participate in ad hoc social groups, limitations on the types ofinformation provided to other devices through the dashboard interface,etc.).

Also, after, or concurrent with, registration of the guest mobile device70, the circuitry of the vehicle detects a connection establishedbetween the wireless transceiver 54 and the passenger mobile device 80.Based on detection of the passenger mobile device 80, the circuitryrequests, through the wireless transceiver 54, preferred vehiclesettings (if any) stored on the passenger mobile device 80. In thisexample, the passenger mobile device 80 accesses preferred vehiclesettings for the passenger from its electronic storage and transmits theaccessed settings to the wireless transceiver 54. The preferred vehiclesettings may include settings related to use and comfort of the vehicle(e.g., temperature settings, seat position settings, mirror settings,audio system settings, navigation system settings, etc.) and settingsrelated to electronic communications exchanged with other devicesthrough the dashboard interface (e.g., settings that indicate whetherthe user would like to participate in ad hoc social groups, limitationson the types of information provided to other devices through thedashboard interface, etc.).

Now that the circuitry has received the guest vehicle settings and thepassenger vehicle settings, the circuitry accesses rules setup by theowner of the vehicle that define the permissible settings of thevehicle. The permissible settings may include specific values and/orranges of values for vehicle convenience settings. For instance, therules may define that the temperature setting must be between sixty-sixdegrees and seventy-six degrees to avoid extreme temperature settings ofguest users. Also, the rules may define parameters for communicatingwith external devices through road contact transceivers of the vehicle.For example, the rules may define that vehicle information should not beshared when the vehicle is used in participating in an ad hoc socialgroup.

The circuitry then evaluates the accessed owner rules with respect tothe guest vehicle settings received from the guest mobile device 70 andthe passenger vehicle settings received from the passenger mobile device80 and attempts to automatically customize the vehicle to the preferredsettings of the guest and passenger within the constraints defined bythe owner rules. For instance, the circuitry determines whether any ofthe guest or passenger settings do not comply with the rules and eitherdiscards the non-complying settings or adjusts them to the closestpossible value that does comply with the rules. For guest or passengersettings that are not possible for the vehicle, the circuitry eitherdiscards the impossible settings or adjusts similar settings that thevehicle includes in a manner that best matches the impossible settings.For settings of the vehicle where the guest and passenger do not have apreference, the circuitry automatically sets these settings to defaultvalues defined by the rules.

Based on the evaluation of the owner rules with respect to the guest andpassenger vehicle settings, the circuitry arrives at a list ofpermissible settings that meet the preferences of the guest and thepassenger. From this list of settings, the circuitry determines whetherany of the preferred settings of the guest user conflict with thepreferred settings of the passenger user. If none of the preferredsettings of the guest user conflict with the preferred settings of thepassenger user, the circuitry adopts all of the settings in the list andautomatically adjusts vehicle settings to match the list of settings.However, if at least one of the preferred settings of the guest userconflicts with at least one of the preferred settings of the passengeruser, the circuitry performs additional processing to determine how bestto customize the vehicle to meet the preferences of the guest user andthe preferences of the passenger user. For example, the circuitry maydetermine whether separate driver and passenger settings exist for anyof the preferred settings in conflict. In this example, when differentdriver and passenger settings exist, the circuitry applies the preferredguest setting to the driver setting and the preferred passenger settingto the preferred passenger setting. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicleincludes the driver temperature setting control 40 and the passengertemperature setting control 42. In this case, the preferred guestsetting and the preferred passenger setting fall within the permissiblerange, but are different from one another. Accordingly, the circuitry ofthe vehicle applies the preferred guest setting to the drivertemperature setting control 40 and applies the preferred passengersetting to the passenger temperature setting control 42.

In some examples, different driver and passenger settings do not existand the circuitry must come to a compromise when a preferred guestsetting does not match a preferred passenger setting. In these examples,the circuitry may select either the guest or the passenger and apply thesetting of the selected user. The selection may always be for the guest(or driver), may always be for the passenger, or may vary depending onthe setting at issue and the profiles of the guest and passenger. Inaddition, the circuitry may attempt to perform a compromise between thepreferred guest setting and the preferred passenger setting. Forinstance, when a temperature setting conflicts, the circuitry mayaverage the values of the preferred guest setting and the preferredpassenger setting and use the average as the automated setting for thevehicle. As another example, when preferred radio presets differ for theguest and the passenger, the circuitry may select half of the availablepresets as the top selections of the guest and select the other half ofthe available presets as the top selections of the passenger.

In addition to customizing the vehicle based on preferred settingsreceived from the guest mobile device 70 and the passenger mobile device80, the circuitry enables the guest mobile device 70 and the passengermobile device 80 to participate in ad hoc social groups with othervehicles that are connected to the same in-pavement vehicle detectionsystem as the vehicle. For instance, when the vehicle moves to aposition where one or more road contact transceivers of the vehicle arein position to communicate with an in-pavement vehicle detection system,the circuitry of the vehicle performs processing related toparticipating in an ad hoc social group associated with the in-pavementvehicle detection system. The processing used to participate in the adhoc social group may take several forms.

In some implementations, the in-pavement vehicle detection system (or aserver connected to the in-pavement vehicle detection system) managesthe ad hoc social group. In these implementations, the in-pavementvehicle detection system detects vehicles connected to the in-pavementvehicle detection system and handles communications among the vehiclesparticipating in the ad hoc social group. For example, when thein-pavement vehicle detection system detects a new vehicle connection,the in-pavement vehicle detection system sends a communication to thenew vehicle to indicate that an ad hoc social group is available andnegotiates with the circuitry of the new vehicle to determine whetherthe new vehicle wishes to participate in the ad hoc social group. Thedetermination of whether the vehicle wishes to participate in the ad hocsocial group may be made automatically based on the settings establishedfor the vehicle or may request input from one of the mobile devices.Based on a determination that the vehicle does not wish to participatein the ad hoc social group, the in-pavement vehicle detection systemexcludes the vehicle from the ad hoc social group and does not route anycommunication related to the ad hoc social group to the vehicle. Basedon a determination that the vehicle does wish to participate in the adhoc social group, the in-pavement vehicle detection system adds thevehicle to the ad hoc social group, routes, to the vehicle,communications from other vehicles related to the ad hoc social group,and distributes communication from the vehicle to the other vehiclesparticipating in the ad hoc social group.

In some examples, the vehicles maintain and manage the ad hoc socialgroup. In these examples, when a new vehicle connects to the in-pavementvehicle detection system and wishes to participate in an ad hoc socialgroup, the new vehicle broadcasts its joining of the network and desireto participate in the ad hoc social group. Other vehicles receive thebroadcast from the new vehicle, add the new vehicle to a list ofvehicles participating in the ad hoc social group and send informationback to the new vehicle to enable the new vehicle to recognize the othervehicles as part of the ad hoc social group and build its own list ofparticipants in the ad hoc social group. The vehicles then exchangecommunications directly to one another in participating in the ad hocsocial group. The vehicles may use pinging communications and/oracknowledgements to maintain a current list of participants in the adhoc social group since the participants dynamically change based onvehicles coming and going. By managing the ad hoc social group withoutinvolvement of the in-pavement vehicle detection system, the cost ofmaintaining the in-pavement vehicle detection system may be reducedbecause the in-pavement vehicle detection system need only be able tofacilitate communications between the vehicles, rather than performingprocessing to manage ad hoc social groups. In this regard, thein-pavement vehicle detection system only needs to maintain equipmentthat enables communications between the vehicles connected to thein-pavement vehicle detection system and does not need to maintainequipment to manage or participate in the ad hoc social group. Forinstance, a municipality may wish to enable visitors to a public park toestablish an ad hoc social group in the parking lot of the park, butdoes not wish to incur the cost of managing the ad hoc social group orhaving an operator available to participate in the ad hoc social group.

In addition, multiple ad hoc social groups may be formed within aparking lot and each such ad hoc social group may be initiated/createdby a particular vehicle without participation or authorization by amerchant operator. Also, a vehicle may belong to multiple ad hoc socialgroups at the same time.

The types of information shared among members participating in the adhoc social group may vary depending on the preferences of the userscurrently operating the vehicle and/or the owner of the vehicle. Forexample, the owner of the vehicle may wish to preserve privacy ofvehicle information and may establish a rule that no vehicle informationmay be shared in ad hoc social groups. In this example, when the vehicleconnects to an ad hoc social group, the circuitry of the vehiclewithholds identifying information related to the vehicle and onlybroadcasts its connection point to the in-pavement vehicle detectionand/or information about one or more mobile devices that areparticipating in the ad hoc social group through the vehicle. However,if the owner allows vehicle information to be shared with ad hoc socialgroups, the circuitry of the vehicle may broadcast vehicle information,such as make, model, color, license plate, etc., to other vehiclesparticipating in the ad hoc social group.

In addition, the one or more mobile devices may control whether mobiledevice/user information is shared in ad hoc social groups. For instance,the settings of the mobile device may indicate whether to share anyinformation about the mobile device (or the user of the mobile device)with ad hoc social groups. When the settings do not permit sharing ofmobile device/user information, the circuitry of the vehicle does nottransmit any mobile device/user information to the ad hoc social groupand the vehicle is identified in the ad hoc social group by itsconnection point to the in-pavement vehicle detection system, itsvehicle information, and/or an arbitrary identifier assigned toparticipants in the ad hoc social group. When the settings permitsharing of mobile device/user information, the circuitry of the vehicletransmits mobile device/user information to the ad hoc social group. Themobile device/user information may include a telephone number of themobile device, a name of the user, profile information for the user,and/or any other information designated by the user for transmission toad hoc social groups. The profile information for the user may include aprofile specifically defined for use in ad hoc social groups for thevehicle or may be a public profile the user uses for another socialnetworking platform. When the profile is a public profile the user usesfor another social networking platform, the user may establishconnections in the other social networking platform throughparticipation in an ad hoc social group (e.g., meet another user in anad hoc social group and establish a connection in the other socialnetworking platform through communications exchanged through thein-pavement vehicle detection system as part of participation in the adhoc social group). The user may define what type of mobile device/userinformation to share in ad hoc social groups, which may vary dependingon the type of in-pavement vehicle detection system to which the vehicleis connected.

In some implementations, multiple mobile devices may be connected tocircuitry in a vehicle simultaneously. In these implementations, all ofthe mobile devices may participate in an ad hoc social group or a subset(e.g., one) of the mobile devices may participate in the ad hoc socialnetwork. For example, the circuitry of the vehicle may require that onlyone mobile device participate in the ad hoc social group and may selectthe one mobile device to participate based on the settings retrievedfrom the mobile devices and/or the rules established by the owner of thevehicle. In this example, the settings retrieved from each mobile devicemay indicate whether or not the device would like to participate in adhoc social groups. When the settings indicate that only one mobiledevice would like to participate in ad hoc social groups, the circuitryof the vehicle selects that device as the device to participate in adhoc social groups. When the settings indicate that multiple mobiledevices would like to participate in ad hoc social groups, the circuitryselects the device based on the rules established by the owner, whichmay result in selection of a driver device, a device having the highestpriority of the multiple mobile devices, or the mobile device that firstestablished a connection with the circuitry of the vehicle.

In addition, the selection of the device to participate in an ad hocsocial group may vary depending on the type of ad hoc social group. Forexample, the settings retrieved from the mobile devices may identify anordered list of ad hoc social groups in which the users would like toparticipate and the electronic circuitry of the vehicle may use theretrieved ordered lists to select which device to use based on a type ofad hoc social group to which the vehicle is connecting. In this example,the circuitry of the vehicle may determine the type of ad hoc socialgroup to which the vehicle is connecting, compare the determined type tothe ordered lists retrieved from mobile devices in the vehicle, andselect the device that has the determined type of ad hoc social groupranked highest. For instance, a father user and a son user may belocated in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, the circuitry mayuse the son's mobile device to participate in an ad hoc social group ofstudents parked in a school parking lot, and the circuitry may use thefather's mobile device to participate in an ad hoc social group ofvehicles parked in a public parking garage.

In implementations in which multiple mobile devices within one vehicleparticipate in ad hoc social groups, the circuitry in the vehicle mayhandle participation in ad hoc social groups in various ways. Forinstance, the circuitry in the vehicle may vary how other members of thead hoc social group perceive the multiple mobile devices within the onevehicle. As one example, the circuitry may present the multiple mobiledevices as simply the vehicle such that the other members of the ad hocsocial group do not perceive a distinction between which of the multiplemobile device sends a communication to the ad hoc social group. In thisexample, the interface for the ad hoc social group may display eachmember of the social group simply as a vehicle and messages exchanged inthe ad hoc social group always appear to originate from a vehiclewithout regard for which of the multiple mobile devices was used to sendthe message. In addition, all of the messages for the vehicle exchangedin the ad hoc social group are sent and presented to all of the multiplemobile devices in the vehicle. In this regard, other members of thegroup may send entire group messages that are distributed to all membersof the group or may send a private message that is specific to thevehicle. In either case, the group or private message gets sent anddisplayed at all of the multiple mobile devices in the vehicle becausethe circuitry does not distinguish the multiple mobile devices in the adhoc social group.

In another example, the circuitry may present the multiple mobiledevices as devices in the vehicle such that the other members of the adhoc social group perceive a distinction between which of the multiplemobile device sends a communication to the ad hoc social group. In thisexample, the interface for the ad hoc social group may display eachmember of the social group simply as a vehicle and the devices that arelocated within the vehicle and that are participating in the ad hocsocial group. In this case, messages exchanged in the ad hoc socialgroup appear to originate from a device within a vehicle such that othermembers can identify which device actually sent the message from thevehicle. In addition, messages exchanged in the ad hoc social group maybe sent and presented to all of the multiple mobile devices in thevehicle or may be sent and presented to a subset of the multiple mobiledevices in the vehicle. In this regard, other members of the group maysend entire group messages that are distributed to all members of thegroup or may send a private message that is specific to the vehicle orspecific to a mobile device within the vehicle. In the case of a groupmessage or a private message addressed to the vehicle, the message getssent and displayed at all of the multiple mobile devices in the vehicle.However, in the case of a private message addressed to a mobile devicein the vehicle, the message gets sent and displayed to only the mobiledevice in to which the message was addressed.

Further, in some examples, the circuitry of the vehicle generatesdifferent interfaces for different ad hoc social groups to which thevehicle connects. In these examples, as the vehicle is driven around andconnects to different ad hoc social groups, the circuitry generates aninterface that is appropriate for the ad hoc social group to which thevehicle is presently connected. For instance, the capabilities of thedifferent in-pavement vehicle detection systems that support thedifferent ad hoc social groups may vary and the circuitry may adapt theinterface presented based on the capabilities. In this regard, thecircuitry may determine that a first in-vehicle detection systemincludes text, voice, and video communication capabilities and adapt aninterface to interact with a first ad hoc social group of the firstin-vehicle detection system to include text, voice, and videocommunication components. In addition, the circuitry may determine thata second in-vehicle detection system only includes text communicationcapabilities and adapt an interface to interact with a second ad hocsocial group of the second in-vehicle detection system to only includetext communication components. Also, the circuitry may adapt the layout,interface content, and flow of interface screens depending on the typeof ad hoc social group to which the vehicle connects. For example, thecircuitry may store default interface visual and flow characteristicsthat are preset for different types of ad hoc social groups and selectthe interface visual and flow characteristics preset for the particulartype of ad hoc social group to which the vehicle is presently connected.In another example, the circuitry may receive interface visual and flowcharacteristics from the in-pavement vehicle detection system thatsupports the ad hoc social group and use the received interface visualand flow characteristics to adapt the one or more interfaces used tointeract in the ad hoc social group.

Vehicle Detection

A first communicant, e.g., a merchant, is provided a mechanism to detectthe presence of the vehicle of a second communicant, e.g., a payingcustomer, and extract identifying information on the identity of thecustomer, for example, from an information processing system, which canbe provided in the customer's vehicle or a customer's mobilecommunication device. In one embodiment, one or multiple grooves are cuton the pavement (such as in a merchant's parking lot or curb side of astreet) and Merchant Road Detection Circuitry is embedded in the surfaceof the pavement. Although any suitable short-range wireless technologymay be used, in one embodiment, NFC technology can be employed. Inaddition, the Merchant Road Detection Circuitry may include any suitablevehicle sensor system including, for example, inductive-loop detectors,magnetometers and the like.

Even though some embodiments of the present invention utilize NFCtechnology due to its nature of extremely short-range and securecommunication, this invention is by no means limited to the use of NFC.Other forms of short-range communication include, for example, dedicatedshort-range communication (DSRC), IEEE 802.11, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, RFIDand the like.

In one embodiment, Merchant NFC Road Detection Circuitry 100 isconnected to the central server of the merchant (Merchant Server 110)where sales transactions are managed. FIG. 2 depicts an embodiment for amerchant to deploy Merchant Road Detection Circuitry 100 embedded on thesurface of a road or a parking lot 130. In FIG. 2, two NFC chips 120 aredeployed to detect one tire 210 of a motor vehicle 200 (see FIG. 2A) asan illustration. All four tires 210 of a motor vehicle 200 can bedetected as depicted in FIG. 2; however, just one successful detectionby any one NFC chip 120 from the NFC Road Detection Circuitry 100 forany one tire would be sufficient for the purpose of completing vehicleidentification.

The Merchant Road Detection Circuitry 100 may contain one or more NFCchips 120 capable of detecting an incoming NFC device, such as anotherNFC chip mounted on the tire 210, rim or body of an approaching vehicle200. The actual placement of the NFC chip(s) 120 in the Merchant RoadDetection Circuitry 100 and the distance between each NFC chip can varydepending on factors such as the size of the road (or parking lot),speed of approaching vehicles, the types of motor vehicles anticipatedand environmental factors. A variety of geometric placements (e.g.,linear stripes, circular patterns, etc.) of NFC chips 120 on a MerchantRoad Detection Circuitry 100 may be possible. The NFC technology allowsdetection of one NFC device from another NFC device within 100 msec.

When Merchant Road Detection Circuitry 100 positively detects thepresence of a motor vehicle 200, the Circuitry 100, through its onboardNFC chip 120, communicates with the NFC chip mounted on the motorvehicle 200 to establish two-way communication using established NFCcommunication protocols. The identity of the motor vehicle 200, encodedin the NFC chip mounted on the motor vehicle 200, can be communicated tothe Merchant Server 110. The identity of the merchant, encoded in theNFC chips on the Merchant Road Detection Circuitry 100, can becommunicated to the customer's motor vehicle 200 and eventually to thecustomer's NFC-enabled Smartphone 340 (see FIG. 3 or 3A).

The purpose of the Merchant Road Detection Circuitry is to ensure anactive NFC connection between a Road Contact Module in at least one tireof a customer's vehicle and the Merchant server when the customer'svehicle is parked in a designated parking spot of the merchant. As such,the Merchant Road Detection Circuitry can take on a large variety ofgeometric shapes and areas (linear, circular, etc.) and redundancies inorder to ensure fast and reliable contact between the customer's vehicleand the merchant server where sales transactions are to be made. Due tothe low cost of the NFC chips, a relatively large surface areacontaining a large array of NFC chips may be financially feasible fordeployment as part of the Merchant Road Detection Circuitryinstallation. This invention does not favor or rely on any particularlayout of the Merchant Road Detection Circuitry.

The NFC chips in a Merchant Road Detection Circuitry may be encapsulatedin hard plastic casings and mounted on the surface of the pavement ofthe merchant's parking lot. Because NFC is based on radio frequency (RF)technology which is capable of penetrating plastics, concrete materials,etc. and can operate in a variety of outdoor environments, the physicalimplementation of the Merchant Road Detection Circuitry may take on avariety of form factors to embed NFC chips into the surface of thepavement. This invention does not favor or rely on any particularimplementation of the Merchant Road Detection Circuitry.

Road Contact Module Mounting and Installation

Each Road Contact Module can contain one or more NFC chips and may beencapsulated in a plastic casing of a variety of shapes for ease ofhandling. A Road Contact Module can be installed either in the stemvalve of a tire or mounted on the rim of the wheel. The installationprocedure can be similar to the standard installation procedure of asensor in a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS).

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate examples of installation processes forapplication of a device such as a Road Contact Module to a rim or tireof a vehicle. FIG. 7 depicts an example of a valve-mounted device, whichmay be a sensor, an NFC chip, circuitry, housings, support modules or aRoad Contact Module. FIG. 8 depicts an example of a band-mounted device.FIG. 7 depicts a design where the installation of a Road Contact Moduleis on the stem valve of the tire. The advantage of this design is easeof installation as the tire does not have to be dismounted from thewheel to perform the installation. The disadvantage of this design isthat there can only be one Road Contact Module for each tire, henceincreasing the likelihood of the Road Contact Module on the tire notmaking contact with the Merchant Road Detection Circuitry. FIG. 8depicts another design where a Road Contact Module is mounted through aband onto the wheel of the vehicle. The disadvantage of this design isthe necessity of having to remove the tire from the wheel beforeinstallation can take place. The advantage of this design is thatmultiple Road Contact Modules can be mounted along the entirecircumference of the wheel.

For the purpose of this invention, the design depicted in FIG. 8 ispreferred because it allows a greater number of Road Contact Modules tobe mounted along the perimeter of the wheel to ensure contact with atleast one NFC chip embedded in the Merchant Road Detection Circuitry.Further, the Road Contact Module is physically designed toproportionally protrude more into the space between the edge of thewheel and the tire (depending on the height of the tire) so as to ensurethe distance between the NFC chip in the Road Contact Module and the NFCchip in the Merchant Road Detection Circuitry meet the distance rangelimitation required by the NFC protocol. See FIG. 6 for an illustration.The actual implementation such as the number of Road Contact Modulesrequired on the circumference of a wheel, the physical placement of eachRoad Contact Module along the circumference of the wheel and theplacement of NFC chips in the Merchant Road Detection Circuitry on apavement will vary depending on the vehicle tire size, vehicle wheelsize, number of tires to be equipped with the Road Contact Modules,length and size of the parking stall on merchant premises and otherenvironmental conditions. The system is designed to ensure the vehicleis in full NFC contact with the merchant server when in a parkedposition. Additionally, the merchant can deploy parking lot markings orgrooves or bumps to help guide the vehicle to properly position itselfto be in full NFC contact. Furthermore, an audible signal or a visualsignal could be deployed at the merchant's premises to inform the driverof the vehicle that his vehicle is locked in position for NFCcommunication with the merchant.

Wireless vs. Wireline Connection Between Road Contact Modules andExtension Circuitry Module

The connection between a Road Contact Module and the Extension CircuitryModule could be either wireline or wireless (via NFC, a type of RFsignal such as Bluetooth and the like). Further, utilizing a wirelessconnection technology such as NFC or Bluetooth between a Road ContactModule and the Extension Circuitry Module could simplify installationbecause there would not be any wiring to deal with. The disadvantage ofa wireless connection is that the Road Contact Module would need to runon a battery, which would require replacement at a certain point of timedepending on the life of the battery used to power the Road ContactModule. Furthermore, secure wireless connections are desirable. Thewireless system is designed to avoid falsely detecting the Road ContactModule of a neighboring car, for example, by utilizing encryption orcoding of signals.

In one embodiment, a wireline connection is utilized between multipleRoad Contact Modules and the Extension Circuitry Module. Specifically, arotating mechanical swivel hub can be deployed and mounted in the centerof the wheel. See FIG. 6. Such a mechanical hub is physically attachedto the wheel and spins with the wheel with the center of the hub alwaysin a fixed position which is also the center of the wheel. Physicalwiring electrically connects each Road Contact Module with the hub inthe center of the wheel. Such wiring is also physically attached to thewheel and rotates with the wheel. The swivel hub maintains an electricalconnection to the Extension Circuitry Module which is mounted elsewherein the vehicle. (The exact location of the Extension Circuitry Moduleand installation procedure varies from car to car.) Hence each RoadContact Module is electrically connected, via a wireline connectionthrough the hub, to the Extension Circuitry Module. It should be notedthat there are numerous other electromechanical methods to connect viawireline a set of rotating Road Contact Modules with the ExtensionCircuitry Module.

MPEK

The Mobile Payment Extension Kit (MPEK) is a modular hardware kit whichcan be installed professionally on a motor vehicle to equip such vehiclewith mobile payment capability. FIG. 2A illustrates one embodiment of aMPEK 205. A MPEK 205 can contain three modules: one or more Road ContactModule(s) 220, an Extension Circuitry Model 230 and a Dashboard Module240.

The technologies in the MPEK are intended to be either directlymanufactured in the vehicle by the car manufacturers or the MPEK can bea kit for installation by a professional installer or end users forafter-market applications.

Road Contact Module

In one embodiment, a MPEK 205 contains one or more NFC chipsencapsulated in one or more Road Contact Modules 220 which can bemounted on the tire(s) 210 of a motor vehicle 200. Depending on the sizeof the tires 210 and types of vehicles, multiple Road Contact Modules220 may be mounted in multiple positions on one or more tires 210 toensure fast and efficient detection of the identity of the vehicle bythe Merchant Road Detection Circuitry 100 installed by the merchant. TheRoad Contact Modules 220 can be mounted on the inside or outside of atire 210 depending on the configuration of the tire and how the tire isinstalled in the vehicle. The NFC chip(s) on a Road Contact Module 220may be pre-programmed with the identity of the motor vehicle (such asthe Vehicle Identification Number), model and make of the car andinformation about its owner so as to facilitate automatic detection ofthe owner's credentials by the merchant. NFC chips today arecommercially available for under $3 each and, with mass manufacturing,the cost of the NFC chips can be significantly reduced to allow the RoadContact Module 220 to be manufactured and made affordable to averageconsumers.

Extension Circuitry Module

In one embodiment, the Extension Circuitry Module 230 is the electricalcircuit inside a motor vehicle 200 to electrically connect one or moreRoad Contact Modules 220 from the tire(s) 210 of a motor vehicle 200 tothe Dashboard Module 240 mounted on the dashboard of a motor vehicle200. The Extension Circuitry Module 230, powered by the battery of themotor vehicle 200, provides power to the Road Contact Module(s) 220 andDashboard Module 240 and hosts a computer processor, memory and softwareto control and manage the communications between the user inside hisvehicle and the merchant.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of the communication path 300 between theMerchant Server 110, Merchant Road Detection Circuitry 100, Road ContactModule 220, Extension Circuitry Module 230, Dashboard Module 240 anduser's NFC-enabled payment device such as an NFC-enabled Smartphone 340.In one embodiment, the Merchant Server 110 can have a wired connectionwith the Merchant Road Detection Circuitry 100, which can have an NFCconnection with the Road Contact Module 220, which can have a wiredconnection with the Extension Circuitry Module 230, which can have awired connection with the Dashboard Module 240, which can have an NFCconnection with the NFC-enabled Device 340. The Merchant Server 110 andthe Merchant Road Detection Circuitry can be provided as part of themerchant premises 310, and the Road Contact Module 220, ExtensionCircuitry Module 230 and Dashboard Module 240 can be provided as part ofthe user's Motor Vehicle 200, and can have wireless connections betweenthe various Modules. The Dashboard Module 240 can communicate with theNFC-enabled Device 340 via NFC connection. Communication may originateat the Merchant Server 110 and progress through the Circuitry 100,Modules 220, 230 and 240 to the NFC-enabled Device 340, and vice-versa,i.e., communication may originate at the NFC-enabled Device 340 andprogress through the Modules 240, 230 and 220 and the Circuitry 100 tothe Merchant Server 110.

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of the execution of the software inside theExtension Circuitry Module 230. Specifically, an Extension CircuitryModule Algorithm 400 includes the following steps, which may bepreformed in any suitable order:

-   -   Start 405    -   Poll Dashboard Module 410    -   Query whether a User's Smartphone is detected 415        -   If yes, then a User signs in or registers as a new user 420,            and progresses to the next step        -   If no, then go to the next step    -   Poll Road Contact Module(s) 425    -   Query whether a Merchant is detected 430        -   If yes, then go to the next step        -   If no, then the process returns to Step 410    -   Receive Merchant Identification Information 435    -   Confirm whether a user's Smartphone is detected 440        -   If yes, then go to the next step        -   If no, then Poll Dashboard Module 445 until the user's            Smartphone is detected    -   Based on user settings, selectively display payment or        interactive information to the user via communication with the        Merchant Server 450    -   Query as to whether final payment information determined and        received from the Merchant Server 455        -   If yes, then go to the next step        -   If no, then go to Step 450    -   Instruct Dashboard Module to authorize user to make payment 460    -   User makes payment with user's Smartphone 465    -   Send payment information to Merchant Server 470    -   Return to Step 410

In essence, the Extension Circuitry Module 230 acts as the brain of thevehicular-based mobile payment system and its function is to facilitatepayment and other data communications between the user inside thevehicle and the merchant. The Extension Circuitry Module 230 may also beconnected wirelessly to the Road Contact Module(s) 220 using anappropriate Radio Frequency (RF) technology in order to facilitateinstallation. However a wired connection between the Extension CircuitryModule 230 and Road Contact Module(s) 220 may be more secure for thepurpose of processing payment information.

In some examples, as described, the Extension Circuitry Module 230supports multiple simultaneous users. In these examples, the ExtensionCircuitry Module 230 is capable of supporting multiple simultaneoususers where each user may be engaged in a different phase of atransaction independent of the activities of any other users. Forexample, a first user may be browsing a menu of purchase options while asecond, different user may be executing a purchase transaction. And, athird, different user may be just in the process of signing in. Thesupport of simultaneous users allows multiple occupants of a car to eachpay for his own purchase and engage in transactions or communicationsindependent from one another.

Dashboard Module

The Dashboard Module 240 contains one NFC chip and is typically mountedon the dashboard, steering wheel or instrument panel of a motor vehicle200. The Dashboard Module 240 is the physical interface for the user totap into the merchant's payment system. When a motor vehicle 200 isparked at a merchant's location equipped with Merchant Road DetectionCircuitry 100, and the communication between the Dashboard Module 240and Merchant's payment system is established by the Extension CircuitryModule 230, the user can simply tap an NFC-enabled Smartphone 340enabled with mobile payment technology (for example, technologiescomparable to the Google Wallet and the Google Wallet app) on theDashboard Module 240 and instantly receive payment information on theitem to be purchased from the merchant.

Payment and Additional Information Delivery

Once the communication between the Merchant Server 110 and the user'sNFC-enabled Smartphone 340 is established, the merchant can sendadditional information to the user in addition to payment information.In one embodiment, a user may receive on his NFC-enabled Smartphone 340parking information and rates from the merchant from the convenience ofthe inside of a car as soon as the car is parked. The parkinginformation may contain helpful information such as the maximum numberof hours allowed to park, parking rates, discounts, parking tips (suchas tilting tires inward when parking downhill), street cleaningschedule, today's weather forecast, etc. Also, the user may be promptedto enter on his NFC-enabled Smartphone 340 how long to park so that theMerchant Server 110 can determine the actual payment amount. As anotherexample, a user may receive a visual itemized list of all of the foodshe just ordered at the drive-through of a fast food restaurant and bepresented with a final bill to pay. Furthermore, the user may alsoreceive from the merchant other non-payment related information from themerchant and approved advertisers. All advertisement and messages fromthe merchant are managed and sent by the merchant from the MerchantServer 110.

Personal Settings

Personal settings related to the Vehicular-based Mobile Payment Systemfor a particular user can be set and changed via a user interfacepresented by the Dashboard Module 240 on the screen of the user'sNFC-enabled Smartphone 340 and are completely configurable from inside acar. In one embodiment, Personal Settings function is rendered to theuser on the user's NFC-enabled Smartphone 340 via an app developed iniOS, Android or other mobile operating system. This app communicateswith the Extension Circuitry Module 230 and renders the appropriate userinterface on the user's NFC-enabled Smartphone 340 under the control ofthe Extension Circuitry Module 230. Settings can include securitysettings, enabling or disabling mobile payment capability, filteringunwanted advertisement messages from the merchant, etc. All settings arestored in the memory of the Extension Circuitry Module 230 and can bechanged by the user at any time from his Smartphone regardless of thepresence of any Merchant Road Detection Circuitry 100. Settings can beunique to a particular user and not shared with other users who couldshare the same vehicle. The Extension Circuitry Module 230 can store theprofiles and settings of multiple users (drivers) and only enable thesettings/profile of the user who signs in to the System with hisNFC-enabled Smartphone 340. Sign-in can be simply accomplished by a usertapping his NFC-enabled Smartphone 340 on the Dashboard Module 240. Whena first-time user attempts to use the System, the Extension CircuitryModule 230 will identify this condition by detecting the identificationinformation contained in the NFC chip of the user's NFC-enabledSmartphone 340 and prompts the user to enter a series of settingsquestions in order to set up the settings/profile of the new user. Oncethe settings/profile of a new user is set up, the new user is createdand the user's settings are stored in the memory of the ExtensionCircuitry Module 230. Further, the user's profile settings can storeadditional user personal data such as preferred temperature in the car,personalized audio system settings including radio button settings,personalized seat positioning, personalized mirror settings and thelike. The additional personal settings can be stored in the vehicle'sExtension Circuitry Module 230, which can be electrically connected tothe car's computer system to instruct the car's computer system toeffect the requested changes.

In some implementations, personal settings of a user of a vehicle arestored on the user's mobile device (e.g., smartphone) in addition tosettings stored by the vehicle. In these implementations, one or moreusers may store personal settings (e.g., security settings, preferredtemperature settings, audio system settings, seat settings, mirrorsettings, navigation system settings, settings related to exchange ofcommunications with devices outside of the vehicle, mobile paymentsettings, advertisement filtering settings, etc.) on an extensioncircuitry module of the vehicle. These settings may be changed via theuser's smartphone when the user brings the phone to close proximity ofthe dashboard module. To further enhance the storage of personalsettings, the user's personal settings may be stored on his or hersmartphone in addition to being stored on the vehicle. In theseimplementations, the user may take his or her smartphone to anycomparably equipped car (that is, a car equipped with the apparatusdisclosed throughout this disclosure, such as a rental car), tap on thedashboard module of that car, and transfer all of his or her personalsettings to the car.

In some examples, the extension circuitry module of the car (e.g.,rental car) recognizes that this is a guest user (by checking itscurrently stored personal settings), checks system settings to determinewhether the guest user is allowed, and if so, automatically transfersthe guest user's settings data from the user's smartphone to the car'sextension circuitry module. The extension circuitry module thenregisters the user as a guest user and automatically adapts the car tothe guest user's preferred settings. In this regard, a guest user in arental car enjoys the same set of features determined by his or herpersonal settings as he or she would in his or her own car under thesame settings. For example, with one tap on the rental car's dashboardmodule, the extension circuitry module of the rental car will instructthe car to automatically adjust the seats, temperature, sound systemsettings, mobile payment options, etc. according to the user's settings.

In addition, in some examples, intelligence may be built into the rentalcar's extension circuitry module where if there are differences incapabilities between the rental car the user's own vehicle, then therental car's extension circuitry module will do its best to approximatethe original user settings. For example, if the preferred temperaturesetting is seventy-two degrees in the user's original car, and if therental car only has temperature setting of high, medium and low, thenthe extension circuitry module of the rental car will compare thepreferred temperature setting to ranges associated with high, medium,and low and, based on results of the comparison, set the temperaturesetting to the setting that has a temperature that includes seventy-twodegrees (e.g., medium).

In some implementations, when the user finishes using the rental car,the user taps his smartphone on the dashboard module to unregisterhimself from the rental car's extension circuitry module and this actionwill trigger the rental car's extension circuitry module to permanentlydelete the settings of the guest user. In these implementations, all ofthe guest user's settings and data are deleted as a security featurebecause it is not desirable for the user's personal settings to bestored on a rental car after the user returns the rental car. To furtherprotect privacy, the rental car's extension circuitry module may notever store guest user settings, but instead require the setting to betransmitted through the dashboard module each time the guest useroperates the rental car. In addition, as another security feature, therental car's extension circuitry module may be configurable toautomatically delete any guest user's personal settings after a fixedperiod of time (e.g., three days) if there is no sign-in activitydetected from that guest user. Further, as another security feature, therental car's extension circuitry module may be configurable toautomatically delete an active guest user's personal settings when adifferent guest user registers with the rental car. Because a new guestuser registration likely indicates that the previous guest user hasdeparted, the previous guest user's personal settings are removed. Thisscenario may result from the previous guest user forgetting tounregister himself or herself as a user of the rental car when he or shereturns the rental car.

In some examples, a new reporting and management feature can be usedsuch that a rental car company anonymously collects and aggregatespersonal settings and mobile payment transaction history of all of guestdrivers of all rental cars. The collected/aggregated data may beanalyzed to determine users driving preferences and purchase habitswhile driving a car in general or while driving a particular type ofcar. An in-pavement vehicle detection system of the rental car companymay download data from a rental car similar to how a mobile payment ismade where the rental car is driven to a pavement embedded with themerchant road detection circuitry. Through a special command issued bythe rental car agent, all of the aggregated user behavior data isdownloaded from the rental car's extension circuitry module to therental car system. After such a download, the aggregated data in therental car may be automatically erased to make room for new data. Inthis regard, upon return, each car is driven to the designated parkingarea for data collection until data from all cars is collected.

Alternatively, the download of the aggregated user data described abovemay be accomplished by the rental car company bringing a smartphone ortablet device (loaded with a special application) to the vicinity of thedashboard module and automatically download aggregated user data to thesmartphone or tablet. Again, after download is complete, the aggregateduser data stored in the car may be automatically erased. The tablet orsmartphone may be used to collect user data from car to car until alldata is collected from all cars.

After collecting data, the rental car company may assign rental cars andperform actions related to rental cars based on an analysis of the data.For instance, the rental car company may provide targeted advertisements(or other information) based on a type of car a user selects and thepast history of purchases made by users using that type of car. Inaddition, the rental car company may setup a rental car in theconfiguration the rental car has most frequently been used and/or mayschedule maintenance for the rental car based on past and expectedfuture usage (e.g., service an air condition system of the car morefrequently when the past/expected usage indicates that the air conditionsystem is typically set at a low setting). Further, the rental carsystem may access as much information about a potential renter aspossible, compare that information against past renters, and assign arental car that is most used by past renters that have characteristicsmost similar to the potential renter. The rental car company even mayhave an NFC reader located at a counter of the rental car agency andaccess the personal settings of the user at the rental counter. In thiscase, the personal settings may be used to select a vehicle that bestmatches the settings preferred by the user at the price point the useris willing to pay. In fact, the rental car system may makerecommendations to either move to a more expensive rental to bettermatch the preferences of the renter or move to a less expensive rentalthat still meets all of the preferences of the user.

By storing vehicle settings on a smartphone, the user may make hisvehicular preferences/settings very portable. As long as the vehicle isequipped with the dashboard module and extension circuitry module andother components as described throughout this disclosure, the user mayeasily take his vehicular preferences/settings from vehicle to vehicle,which may offer significant convenience. Although techniques forportable settings has been described above with respect to rental carsas an example, the techniques are not limited to rental cars and may beapplied to other vehicles, such as vehicles driven by multiple,different family members or other individuals.

Security Feature

The Extension Circuitry Module 230 can further act as a car securitydevice to prevent drivers with unauthorized sign-in credentials fromstarting the vehicle. Authorized users can simply sign-in and unlock thevehicle by tapping his NFC-enabled Smartphone 340 on the DashboardModule 240. The software in the Extension Circuitry Module 230 validatesthe credentials of a driver via his NFC-enabled Smartphone 340 andauthorizes the vehicle to start only if the credentials are validated.The Extension Circuitry Module 230 may be electrically connected to thevehicle's ignition system 250 to perform this security function. Thissecurity feature can be made to be independent from the mobile paymentsystem of this invention.

User Interactivity

This invention transforms a traditional mobile payment technology usableonly at a fixed point of sale location into an interactive tool betweenthe merchant and a user from the convenience of the user's vehicle atany location. The merchant will have more opportunities to presentinformation to the user in addition to just prompting the user forpayment as is the case in traditional mobile payment technology. Throughthe easy-to-use user interface of a Smartphone, the user will have ampleopportunities to react to the messages brought to him by the merchant inaddition to paying the merchant. The merchant may take advantage of thisopportunity to further engage the user and provide better customerservice.

User interactivity is made possible by communications between theMerchant Server 110 located at the merchant premises and the ExtensionCircuitry Module 230 located in the user's vehicle. The Merchant Server110 and the Extension Circuitry Module 230 together determine what typesof information to deliver to the user and what kind of inputs to receivefrom the user. In one embodiment, a particular type of communicationprotocol can be defined between the Merchant Server 110 and theExtension Circuitry Module 230 to facilitate the communication betweenthem. For example, the underlying communication protocol for thetransport layer and Internet layer may be TCP/IP and the applicationlayer protocol may be Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). This protocolallows the Merchant Server 110 and the user's Extension Circuitry Module230 to jointly determine what types of interactivity, if any, are to bedelivered to the user. Through settings defined in a user's profile, auser can limit the type of interactions with the merchant. In thesimplest possible scenario, the user can choose, through his settings inthe Extension Circuitry Module 230, to only receive payment informationand disallow any other types of messages from the merchant such asadvertisements. Hence the Extension Circuitry Module 230 serves afiltering function on behalf of the user to filter out unwantedunsolicited messages from the Merchant Server 110.

In one embodiment, User Interactivity is rendered to the user on theuser's NFC-enabled Smartphone 340 via an app developed in iOS, Androidor other mobile operating system. This app communicates with theExtension Circuitry Module 230 and renders the appropriate userinterface on the user's Smartphone depending on the results ofcommunication between the Extension Circuitry Module 230 and theMerchant Server 110.

In one embodiment, the user may receive promotional messages relating tomultiple services or products offered by the merchant and the user canselect a particular service or product to purchase to suit the user'sneeds from the convenience of the user's NFC-enabled Smartphone 340. Forexample, a user in a parking lot may be presented with the hourly ratesof parking and the user may select the number of hours to park and theMerchant Server 110 will compute the total payment due and instructs theExtension Circuitry Module 230 to deliver the payment notice to theuser's NFC-enabled Smartphone 340 via the Dashboard Module 240.

In one embodiment, the user may receive advertisement messages on hisNFC-enabled Smartphone 340 from the merchant or the merchant's businesspartners. The advertisement messages may be stored on the MerchantServer 110 and software on the Merchant Server 110 is able to makeintelligent decision on what types of advertisement messages to deliverto the user by the user's identification information and by the settingsin the user's profile stored in the vehicle's Extension Circuitry Module230. Such targeted advertising can be served to the user based on thefollowing targeting criteria:

-   -   Model and make of user's motor vehicle    -   Age of the user's motor vehicle    -   Type of tires of the user's motor vehicle    -   Type of products or services user just ordered    -   Location of the merchant    -   Date and time of the day    -   Nearby traffic related messages based on the merchant location    -   Community or public service messages based on merchant location

In one embodiment, electronic coupons can also be optionally generatedand delivered from the Merchant Server 110 to the user's NFC-enabledSmartphone 340, and the electronic coupons can be stored in anapplication loaded on the Smartphone 340. For example, if the merchantdetermines the user's vehicle is a Honda Accord, then the merchant candeliver Honda Accord related car repair or service coupons to the user'sSmartphone. Interactivity can be enabled either before or after paymentis made for as long as the user chooses to keep his NFC-enabledSmartphone 340 in close proximity to the Dashboard Module 240. Anexample of a User Interactivity after payment is made is for themerchant to conduct a customer survey directly on the user's Smartphone.

Dynamic User Interface Capability

The user interface can be determined by the user's settings and/or bythe type of products or services the merchant is selling. The userinterface need not necessarily be a fixed interface, and the userinterface can be adapted to change depending on where the vehicle islocated. For example, if the vehicle is located in a restaurantdrive-through such as a McDonald's drive through, the user interface canbe adapted to change to suit the needs of the restaurant drive-through,and if the vehicle is located at a parking garage, the user interfacecan be adapted to change to suit the needs of the parking garage. Also,a default user interface can be provided when the vehicle is notconnected to a merchant server and/or when a customized user interfacehas not been established for a particular merchant or location.

User Interactivity—Voice Communication

In addition to transaction-based interactivity between the user (via hisNFC-enabled Smartphone 340 and the Extension Circuitry Module 230) andthe merchant (via the Merchant Server 110), such interactivity can beexpanded to include ad hoc real-time voice communications. In oneembodiment, if the communication protocols between the NFC-enabledSmartphone 340, Extension Circuitry Module 230 and the Merchant Server110 are based on the protocol of SIP, then a SIP User Agent (UA)software module can be incorporated into the NFC-enabled Smartphone 340(e.g., embedded in an app) and the Merchant Server 110 to enableVoice-over-IP communications between these 2 end points. Voice-over-IP(or VoIP) and SIP UA are well known in the art and will not be describedhere. FIG. 3A illustrates an example implementation of VoIPcommunication between the user's NFC-enabled Smartphone 340 and theMerchant Server 110 using the SIP technology. Those skilled in the artwill appreciate there are many other possible implementations ofenabling VoIP communications between the user's NFC-enabled Smartphone340 and the Merchant Server 110. According to FIG. 3A, either the useror the merchant operator can initiate a VoIP call to the other party inorder to conduct a real-time VoIP call. Either the user or the merchantoperator can terminate the call at any time. Those skilled in the artwill appreciate that multiple merchant operators can also beaccommodated in this design via the use of one or more SIP proxyservers. Furthermore, intelligent call routing may be implemented toroute a user initiated call to the first available merchant operator orthe best-fit merchant operator. SIP, VoIP and call center technologiesare well known in the art and will not be described here. Such real-timevoice calls may be useful whenever the user desires live assistance fromthe merchant from the user's car. Conversely, the merchant may alsoplace a VoIP call directly to the user's car to communicate necessaryinformation to the user in real-time without having to know the user'sphone number, thereby the user's privacy is protected.

User Interactivity—Video Communication

Similar to live voice communication described above, ad hoc live videocommunications may also be implemented between the user's NFC-enabledSmartphone 340 and a merchant operator. In one embodiment, SIP protocolsmay be used to set up, maintain and tear down a video call between theuser and a merchant operator. Those skilled in the art will appreciatethat multiple merchant operators can also be accommodated in this designvia the use of one or more SIP proxy servers. Furthermore, intelligentcall routing may be implemented to route a user initiated video call tothe first available merchant operator or the best-fit merchant operator.SIP, VoIP, video calls and call center technologies are well known inthe art and will not be described here. Using SIP to implement videocalls is well known in the art and will not be described here. Suchreal-time video calls may be useful whenever the user desires liveassistance or live visual aid from the merchant from the user's car. Asanother example, the merchant may require to see the user's face forsecurity and authentication purposes in order to authorize atransaction. Conversely, the merchant may also place a video calldirectly to the user's car to communicate necessary information to theuser.

User Interactivity—Instant Messaging

Similar to live voice communication described above, ad hoc live chat(or instant messaging) communications may also be implemented betweenthe user's NFC-enabled Smartphone 340 and a merchant operator. In oneembodiment, SIP protocols may be used to set up, maintain and tear downa text chat or instant messaging session between the user and a merchantoperator. Using SIP to implement text chat or instant messaging sessionsis well known in the art and will not be described here. Such real-timeinstant messaging sessions may be useful whenever the user desires liveassistance from the merchant from the user's car. Conversely, themerchant may also initiate an instant messaging session directly to theuser's car to communicate necessary information to the user in realtime.

Ad Hoc Social Group

As discussed above, the system described throughout this disclosuresupports many types of ad hoc connections, such as voice, video, andinstant messaging connections. In this regard, the ad hoc connectionsdescribed establish a social group between a connected user and amerchant operator. Specifically, when a user drives his or her vehicleto a position where at least one road contact module (e.g., road contacttransceiver) is able to communicate with an in-pavement vehicledetection system of a merchant, an ad hoc social group is formed betweenthe user inside the vehicle and the merchant operator, and the user andthe merchant operator can engage in ad hoc voice, video, and/or instantmessaging chat. The ad hoc connection and social group disappears as theuser drives away and no longer in position to enable communicationthrough the in-pavement vehicle detection system of the merchant.

In some implementations, the ad hoc social group may be expanded and mayinclude multiple vehicles with the merchant operator. For instance, anad hoc social group may be formed between all users who park their carsin the merchant's designated parking area or drive-through lane area)embedded with the merchant road detection circuitry. That is, the ad hocsocial/chat group may be enhanced to include one or more merchantoperators and one or more users who park their cars in the merchant'sparking area at the same time. This type of ad hoc social group may beuseful for the customers to share their purchase experience (similar tohow two strangers in a supermarket can share grocery shoppingexperience) from the convenience of inside their cars. In addition, afirst customer may chat with a second customer parked in a car next tothe first customer and also may talk to a merchant operator to get thebest experience for both customers at the merchant. When a user drivesaway from the merchant's parking area, that user is automaticallyremoved from the ad hoc social group. In addition, because allcommunication flows through the merchant road detection circuitry,personal information (e.g., name, phone number, etc.) of mobile devicesthat are used to interact in the ad hoc social group is not shared withother participants in the group and, thus, privacy of all users may bemaintained.

Pre-Pay and Post-Pay

The mechanism of this invention offers the flexibility for a user to payfor services from a merchant either before the service is rendered orafter the service is rendered provided the merchant allows thisflexibility. This is in contrast with traditional mobile paymenttechnology which requires a user to pay for the services on the spot assoon as service is rendered. For example, when a user pulls his carequipped with MPEK into a parking space, the user can have theflexibility to pay for parking based on the duration of his actual staywithout having to make payment upfront. In this example, the followingsteps are performed:

-   -   User pulls his MPEK equipped car into a parking space equipped        with Merchant Road Detection Circuitry 100.    -   User interacts with the merchant via the User Interactivity        capability (described earlier) from his NFC-enabled Smartphone        340 to determine the types of services to be purchased.    -   The Extension Circuitry Module 230, with the user inputs        accepted from User Interactivity, communicates with the Merchant        Server 110 and subsequently communicates with the user whether        pre-pay or post-pay is allowed.    -   In the event the Merchant Server 110 determines, based on the        identity of the user, the Settings of the user and the type of        services desired, immediate payment is required, then the        Extension Circuitry Module 230 prompts the user to make payment        immediately from his NFC-enabled Smartphone 340. This would be        the pre-pay or pay-now scenario.    -   In the event the Merchant Server 110 determines payment can be        made after the service is rendered, then the Extension Circuitry        Module 230 notifies the user via the user's NFC-enabled        Smartphone 340. For example, the merchant may require the user        to pay for parking after the user returns to his car.    -   The user leaves the car and the Merchant Server 110 starts a        timer to time the duration of the service.    -   The user returns to his car and taps his NFC-enabled Smartphone        340 to the Dashboard Module 240 of his car to notify the        Merchant Server 110 of his return.    -   Through User Interactivity, the user notifies the Dashboard        Module 240 to end the service (parking) from his NFC-enabled        Smartphone 340.    -   The Dashboard Module 240 communicates with the Extension        Circuitry Module 230 which in turns communicates with the        Merchant Server 110 which stops the timer and determines the        final payment amount due based on the duration of the user's        stay.    -   The Merchant Server 110 communicates the final payment amount to        the user's NFC-enabled Smartphone 340 via the Extension        Circuitry Module 230.    -   The user makes payment from his NFC-enabled Smartphone 340.

The above example illustrates how a post-pay service such as parkingservice can be provided by this invention. Other post-pay services canbe easily provided via the same mechanisms.

Payment Authorization and Confirmation

The final step in completing the sale transaction is for the user toauthorize payment for the merchant's goods or services. In the simplestform and in the absence of any User Interactivity, the user can simplytap his NFC-enabled Smartphone 340 on the Dashboard Module 240 andcomplete the sale transaction. When User Interactivity is involved,final payment authorization can be performed by the user tapping hisNFC-enabled Smartphone 340 on the Dashboard Module 240 or bringing hisNFC-enabled Smartphone 340 to close proximity of the Dashboard Module240; followed by pressing a confirmation button on the screen of theNFC-enabled Smartphone 340. The payment authorization step otherwisefollows standard mobile payment transactions commercially availabletoday. Commercially available mobile payment technology includes, forexample, Google Wallet which consists of a payment service and anAndroid app by Google to allow users to store credit card, debit cardand store loyalty data on a virtual wallet—e.g., as an app downloadableto an NFC-enabled Android Smartphone. Final payment information is sentto the payment terminal function in the Merchant Server 110 to completethe transaction. Merchant Server 110 may optionally send a receipt orconfirmation to the NFC-enabled Smartphone 340 of the user via theExtension Circuitry Module 230. FIG. 5 is a flow chart of the algorithmof the Merchant Server 110. FIG. 5 outlines the steps a Merchant Server110 performs in order to communicate with the user inside a vehicle tocomplete the payment process. Specifically, a Merchant Server Algorithm500 includes the following steps, which may be preformed in any suitableorder:

-   -   Start 505    -   Poll Merchant Road Detection Circuitry 510    -   Query as to whether a vehicle is detected 515        -   If yes, then the proceed to the next step        -   If no, then return to Step 510    -   Receive Vehicle Identification Information 520    -   Query as to whether the vehicle already made payment 525        -   If yes, then return to Start 505        -   If no, then go to the next step    -   Communicate with vehicle's extension circuitry module to        determine what payment information or interactive messages to        send to the user 530    -   Query as to whether a user is ready to send final payment        information 535        -   If yes, then go to the next step        -   If no, then return to Step 530    -   Send final payment information to the vehicle's Extension        Circuitry Module 540    -   Receive payment from user via vehicle's Extension Circuitry        Module 545    -   Generate receipt and send to user via vehicle's Extension        Circuitry Module 550

A customer client system may include one or more processing units(CPU's), one or more network or other communications interfaces, memory,and one or more communication buses for interconnecting thesecomponents. The customer client system may include a user interface, forinstance a display and a keyboard. The memory may include high speedrandom access memory and may also include non-volatile memory, such asone or more magnetic or optical storage disks. The memory may includemass storage that is remotely located from CPU's. The memory may storethe following elements, or a subset or superset of such elements: anoperating system that includes procedures for handling various basicsystem services and for performing hardware dependent tasks; a networkcommunication module (or instructions) that is used for connecting thecustomer client system to other computers via the one or morecommunications interfaces (wired or wireless), such as the Internet,other wide area networks, local area networks, metropolitan areanetworks, and so on; a client application; optionally, a cache ofdownloaded and a cache downloaded, as well as other information forviewing using the client application, and information retrieved by userselection of one or more items.

Each of the above identified modules or programs corresponds to a set ofinstructions for performing a function described above. These modulesand programs (i.e., sets of instructions) need not be implemented asseparate software programs, procedures or modules, and thus varioussubsets of these modules may be combined or otherwise re-arranged invarious embodiments.

The illustrated aspects of the disclosure may also be practiced indistributed computing environments where certain tasks are performed byremote processing devices that are linked through a communicationsnetwork. In a distributed computing environment, program modules can belocated in both local and remote memory storage devices.

Moreover, various components described herein can include electricalcircuit(s) that can include components and circuitry elements ofsuitable value in order to implement the embodiments of the subjectinnovation(s). Furthermore, many of the various components can beimplemented on one or more integrated circuit (IC) chips. For example,in one embodiment, a set of components can be implemented in a single ICchip. In other embodiments, one or more of respective components arefabricated or implemented on separate IC chips.

The above description includes examples and implementations. It is, ofcourse, not possible to describe every conceivable combination ofcomponents or methodologies for purposes of describing the claimedsubject matter. Therefore, many further combinations and permutations ofthe subject innovation are possible. Accordingly, the claimed subjectmatter is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications, andvariations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.Moreover, the above description of illustrated implementations of thesubject disclosure, including what is described in the Abstract, is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed implementations tothe precise forms disclosed. While specific examples are describedherein for illustrative purposes, various modifications are possiblethat are considered within the scope of such examples.

In particular and in regard to the various functions performed by theabove described components, devices, circuits, systems and the like, theterms used to describe such components are intended to correspond,unless otherwise indicated, to any component which performs thespecified function of the described component (e.g., a functionalequivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosedstructure, which performs the function in the herein illustratedexemplary aspects of the claimed subject matter. In this regard, theinnovation includes a system as well as a computer-readable storagemedium having computer-executable instructions for performing the actsand/or events of the various methods of the claimed subject matter.

The aforementioned systems/circuits/modules have been described withrespect to interaction between several components/blocks. Suchsystems/circuits and components/blocks can include those components orspecified sub-components, some of the specified components orsub-components, and/or additional components, and according to variouspermutations and combinations of the foregoing. Sub-components can alsobe implemented as components communicatively coupled to other componentsrather than included within parent components (hierarchical).Additionally, one or more components may be combined into a singlecomponent providing aggregate functionality or divided into severalseparate sub-components, and any one or more middle layers, such as amanagement layer, may be provided to communicatively couple to suchsub-components in order to provide integrated functionality. Anycomponents described herein may also interact with one or more othercomponents not specifically described herein but known by those of skillin the art.

In addition, while a particular feature of the subject innovation mayhave been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations,such feature may be combined with one or more other features of theother implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any givenor particular application. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms“includes,” “including,” “has,” “contains,” variants thereof, and othersimilar words are used in either the detailed description or the claims,these terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term“comprising” as an open transition word without precluding anyadditional or other elements.

As used in this application, the terms “component,” “module,” “system,”or the like are generally intended to refer to a computer-relatedentity, either hardware (e.g., a circuit), a combination of hardware andsoftware, or an entity related to an operational machine with one ormore specific functionalities. For example, a component may be, but isnot limited to being, a process running on a processor (e.g., digitalsignal processor), a processor, an object, an executable, a thread ofexecution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both anapplication running on a controller and the controller can be acomponent. One or more components may reside within a process and/orthread of execution and a component may be localized on one computerand/or distributed between two or more computers. Further, a “device”can come in the form of specially designed hardware; generalizedhardware made specialized by the execution of software thereon thatenables the hardware to perform specific function; software stored on acomputer-readable medium; or a combination thereof.

Moreover, the words “example” or “exemplary” are used herein to meanserving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or designdescribed herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use ofthe words “example” or “exemplary” is intended to present concepts in aconcrete fashion. As used in this application, the term “or” is intendedto mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or”. That is, unlessspecified otherwise, or clear from context, “X employs A or B” isintended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, ifX employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B, then “X employs Aor B” is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. In addition,the articles “a” and “an” as used in this application and the appendedclaims should generally be construed to mean “one or more” unlessspecified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singularform.

Computing devices typically include a variety of media, which caninclude computer-readable storage media and/or communications media, inwhich these two terms are used herein differently from one another asfollows. Computer-readable storage media can be any available storagemedia that can be accessed by the computer, is typically of anon-transitory nature, and can include both volatile and nonvolatilemedia, removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and notlimitation, computer-readable storage media can be implemented inconnection with any method or technology for storage of information suchas computer-readable instructions, program modules, structured data, orunstructured data. Computer-readable storage media can include, but arenot limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memorytechnology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical diskstorage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or other tangible and/or non-transitorymedia which can be used to store desired information. Computer-readablestorage media can be accessed by one or more local or remote computingdevices, e.g., via access requests, queries or other data retrievalprotocols, for a variety of operations with respect to the informationstored by the medium.

In view of the exemplary systems described above, methodologies that maybe implemented in accordance with the described subject matter will bebetter appreciated with reference to the flowcharts of the variousfigures. For simplicity of explanation, the methodologies are depictedand described as a series of acts. However, acts in accordance with thisdisclosure can occur in various orders and/or concurrently, and withother acts not presented and described herein. Furthermore, not allillustrated acts may be required to implement the methodologies inaccordance with the disclosed subject matter. In addition, those skilledin the art will understand and appreciate that the methodologies couldalternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states via astate diagram or events. Additionally, it should be appreciated that themethodologies disclosed in this specification are capable of beingstored on an article of manufacture to facilitate transporting andtransferring such methodologies to computing devices. The term articleof manufacture, as used herein, is intended to encompass a computerprogram accessible from any computer-readable device or storage media.

Although some of various drawings illustrate a number of logical stagesin a particular order, stages which are not order dependent can bereordered and other stages can be combined or broken out. Alternativeorderings and groupings, whether described above or not, can be used.Moreover, the stages could be implemented in hardware, firmware, or acombination of hardware and software.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has beendescribed with reference to specific implementations. However, theillustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or tobe limiting to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications andvariations are possible in view of the above teachings. Theimplementations were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the aspects and its practical applications, to therebyenable others skilled in the art to best utilize the aspects and variousimplementations with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle comprising: a body carriage havingrotatable wheels mounted thereunder, the rotatable wheels configured toroll along a surface of a pavement, each of the rotatable wheelsincluding a tire mounted on a rim; and a vehicle extension systemconfigured to communicate wirelessly with in-pavement vehicle detectionsystems embedded on or below pavement on which the rotatable wheels areconfigured to roll, the vehicle communication extension systemcomprising: one or more road contact transceivers arranged so that atleast one of the one or more road contact transceivers is within apredetermined distance from an in-pavement vehicle detection systembased on the rotatable wheels being located on pavement at a positionabove the in-pavement vehicle detection system, the one or more roadcontact transceivers being configured to transmit information to andreceive information from the in-pavement vehicle detection system basedon at least one of the one or more road contact transceivers beingwithin the predetermined distance from the in-pavement vehicle detectionsystem; one or more wireless transceivers that are located in thevehicle and that are configured to communicate with personal mobilecommunication devices that are located within a passenger compartment ofthe vehicle; and extension circuitry electrically connected to the oneor more road contact transceivers and the one or more wirelesstransceivers, the extension circuitry being configured to managecommunications between the one or more road contact transceivers, theone or more wireless transceivers, in-pavement vehicle detectionsystems, and personal mobile communication devices, wherein theextension circuitry is configured to: detect a guest personal mobilecommunication device that is positioned to wirelessly communicate withat least one of the one or more wireless transceivers, the guestpersonal mobile communication device being a communication device of aguest user that is attempting to use the vehicle; based on detection ofthe guest personal mobile communication device, monitor for presence ofan owner personal mobile communication device in position to wirelesslycommunicate with at least one of the one or more wireless transceivers,the owner personal mobile communication device having been registered tothe extension circuitry as a device that is able to use the vehicle andauthorize guests to use the vehicle; based on the monitoring forpresence of the owner personal mobile communication device, detect theowner personal mobile communication device in position to wirelesslycommunicate with at least one of the one or more wireless transceivers;based on detection of the owner personal mobile communication device,authorize use of the vehicle by the guest personal mobile communicationdevice and receive, from the guest personal mobile communication devicethrough at least one of the one or more wireless transceivers, guestvehicle settings stored by the guest personal mobile communicationdevice, the guest vehicle settings defining preferences of the guestuser for settings associated with use of the vehicle and settingsassociated with communications exchanged with in-pavement vehicledetection systems by the guest personal mobile communication device;after authorization of use of the vehicle by the guest personal mobilecommunication device, detect a passenger personal mobile communicationdevice that is positioned to wirelessly communicate with at least one ofthe one or more wireless transceivers, the passenger personal mobilecommunication device being a communication device of a passenger userwho is located in the passenger compartment of the vehicle; based ondetection of the passenger personal mobile communication device,receive, from the passenger personal mobile communication device throughat least one of the one or more wireless transceivers, passenger vehiclesettings stored by the passenger personal mobile communication device,the passenger vehicle settings defining preferences of the passengeruser for settings associated with use of the vehicle and settingsassociated with communications exchanged with in-pavement vehicledetection systems by the passenger personal mobile communication device;access, from electronic storage, vehicle rules that define permissiblesettings for the vehicle, the accessed vehicle rules having been definedbased on communication with the owner personal mobile communicationdevice through at least one of the one or more wireless transceivers;evaluate the received guest vehicle settings and the received passengervehicle settings with respect to the accessed vehicle rules; based onthe evaluation, determine current vehicle settings for settingsassociated with use of the vehicle by the guest user and the passengeruser and settings associated with communications exchanged within-pavement vehicle detection systems by the guest personal mobilecommunication device and the passenger personal mobile communicationdevice, the current vehicle settings meeting a subset of the preferencesof the guest user and a subset of the preferences of the passenger user;monitor for an ability to connect with the in-pavement vehicle detectionsystem through at least one of the one or more road contacttransceivers, the in-pavement vehicle detection system being able tosimultaneously connect with multiple vehicles through road contacttransceivers; based on the monitoring for the ability to communicatewith the in-pavement vehicle detection system, detect the ability tocommunicate with the in-pavement vehicle detection system; based ondetection of the ability to communicate with the in-pavement vehicledetection system, add, in accordance with the current vehicle settings,the vehicle to an ad hoc social group that includes the multiplevehicles simultaneously connected to the in-pavement vehicle detectionsystem through road contact transceivers; based on the current vehiclesettings, enable the passenger personal mobile communication device tointeract with the ad hoc social group without revealing identifyinginformation associated with the passenger personal mobile communicationdevice; and automatically, without user intervention, disconnect fromthe ad hoc social group based on the vehicle moving to a position inwhich the one or more road contact transceivers are outside of thepredetermined distance from the in-pavement vehicle detection system. 2.The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the extension circuitry is configured toenable the passenger personal mobile communication device to interactwith the ad hoc social group without revealing identifying informationassociated with the passenger personal mobile communication device byenabling the passenger personal mobile communication device to engage ina voice communication session that involves the multiple vehiclessimultaneously connected to the in-pavement vehicle detection systemthrough road contact transceivers, the voice communication session beingarranged through the in-pavement vehicle detection system withoutrevealing telephone numbers of any of personal mobile communicationdevice used to engage in the voice communication session.
 3. The vehicleof claim 1, wherein the extension circuitry is configured to enable thepassenger personal mobile communication device to interact with the adhoc social group without revealing identifying information associatedwith the passenger personal mobile communication device by enabling thepassenger personal mobile communication device to engage in a videocommunication session that involves the multiple vehicles simultaneouslyconnected to the in-pavement vehicle detection system through roadcontact transceivers, the video communication session being arrangedthrough the in-pavement vehicle detection system without revealingtelephone numbers of any of personal mobile communication device used toengage in the video communication session.
 4. The vehicle of claim 1,wherein the extension circuitry is configured to enable the passengerpersonal mobile communication device to interact with the ad hoc socialgroup without revealing identifying information associated with thepassenger personal mobile communication device by enabling the passengerpersonal mobile communication device to engage in a text-messagingcommunication session that involves the multiple vehicles simultaneouslyconnected to the in-pavement vehicle detection system through roadcontact transceivers, the text-messaging communication session beingarranged through the in-pavement vehicle detection system withoutrevealing telephone numbers of any of personal mobile communicationdevice used to engage in the video communication session.
 5. The vehicleof claim 1, wherein the extension circuitry is configured to authorizeuse of the vehicle by the guest personal mobile communication device byautomatically authorizing use of the vehicle by the guest personalmobile communication device upon detection of the owner personal mobilecommunication device without requiring any input be provided at theowner personal mobile communication device.
 6. The vehicle of claim 1,wherein the extension circuitry is configured to authorize use of thevehicle by the guest personal mobile communication device by sending, tothe owner personal mobile communication device through at least one ofthe one or more wireless transceivers, a communication requestingauthorization of the guest personal mobile communication device andreceiving, from the owner personal mobile communication device throughat least one of the one or more wireless transceivers, a responseindicating that the owner personal mobile communication device receivedinput authorizing use of the vehicle by the guest personal mobilecommunication device.
 7. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the extensioncircuitry is configured to access, from electronic storage, vehiclerules that define permissible settings for the vehicle by accessing,from electronic storage, vehicle rules that define permissible ranges ofvalues for settings associated with use of the vehicle.
 8. The vehicleof claim 1, wherein the extension circuitry is configured to access,from electronic storage, vehicle rules that define permissible settingsfor the vehicle by accessing, from electronic storage, vehicle rulesthat define what information about the vehicle is available for sendingin communications exchanged with in-pavement vehicle detection systems.9. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the extension circuitry is configuredto access, from electronic storage, vehicle rules that definepermissible settings for the vehicle by accessing, from electronicstorage, vehicle rules that define priority criteria for resolvinginconsistencies in preferred vehicle settings received from differentpersonal mobile communication devices, the priority criteria indicatingthat preferred settings of a driver are given priority over preferredsettings of a passenger for driver-related vehicle settings, thatpreferred settings of a passenger are given priority over preferredsettings of a driver for passenger-related vehicle settings, and thatpreferred settings of a driver are given priority over preferredsettings of a passenger for general vehicle settings that are notspecific to a driver or a passenger.
 10. The vehicle of claim 1, whereinthe extension circuitry is configured to access, from electronicstorage, vehicle rules that define permissible settings for the vehicleby accessing, from electronic storage, vehicle rules that define bestfit criteria for resolving inconsistencies in preferred vehicle settingsreceived from different personal mobile communication devices, the bestfit criteria being designed to result in one or more compromise settingsthat represent a best fit in matching all received settings withoutexactly matching any received setting.
 11. The vehicle of claim 1,wherein the extension circuitry is configured to access, from electronicstorage, vehicle rules that define permissible settings for the vehicleby accessing, from electronic storage, vehicle rules that adapt vehiclesettings to a closest setting based on impermissible settings beingreceived.
 12. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the extension circuitry isconfigured to add, in accordance with the current vehicle settings, thevehicle to an ad hoc social group that includes the multiple vehiclessimultaneously connected to the in-pavement vehicle detection systemthrough road contact transceivers by automatically, without userintervention, adding the vehicle to the ad hoc social group, the ad hocsocial group being arranged in a closed configuration in which allcommunications between vehicles pass through the in-pavement vehicledetection system and only vehicles positioned to connect to thein-pavement vehicle detection system through a road contact transceiverare part of the ad hoc social group.
 13. The vehicle of claim 1: whereinthe extension circuitry is configured to determine current vehiclesettings for settings associated with use of the vehicle by the guestuser and the passenger user and settings associated with communicationsexchanged with in-pavement vehicle detection systems by the guestpersonal mobile communication device and the passenger personal mobilecommunication device by determining that only the passenger personalmobile communication device is set to participate in ad hoc socialgroups based on the evaluation revealing that the received guest vehiclesettings indicate that the guest user does not wish to participate in adhoc social groups and that the received passenger vehicle settingsindicate that the passenger user wishes to participate in ad hoc socialgroups; and wherein the extension circuitry is configured to enable thepassenger personal mobile communication device to interact with the adhoc social group by: determining that the current vehicle settingsindicate that the passenger personal mobile communication device is setto participate in ad hoc social groups and the guest personal mobilecommunication device is not set to participate in ad hoc social groups;and enabling only the passenger personal mobile communication device tointeract with the ad hoc social group based on the determination thatthe current vehicle settings indicate that the passenger personal mobilecommunication device is set to participate in ad hoc social groups andthe guest personal mobile communication device is not set to participatein ad hoc social groups.
 14. The vehicle of claim 1: wherein theextension circuitry is configured to determine current vehicle settingsfor settings associated with use of the vehicle by the guest user andthe passenger user and settings associated with communications exchangedwith in-pavement vehicle detection systems by the guest personal mobilecommunication device and the passenger personal mobile communicationdevice by determining that the guest personal mobile communicationdevice and the passenger personal mobile communication device are set toparticipate in ad hoc social groups based on the evaluation revealingthat the received guest vehicle settings indicate that the guest userwishes to participate in ad hoc social groups and that the receivedpassenger vehicle settings indicate that the passenger user wishes toparticipate in ad hoc social groups; and wherein the extension circuitryis configured to enable the passenger personal mobile communicationdevice to interact with the ad hoc social group by: determining that thecurrent vehicle settings indicate that the passenger personal mobilecommunication device is set to participate in ad hoc social groups andthe guest personal mobile communication device is set to participate inad hoc social groups; and enabling both the guest personal mobilecommunication device and the passenger personal mobile communicationdevice to interact with the ad hoc social group based on thedetermination that the current vehicle settings indicate that thepassenger personal mobile communication device is set to participate inad hoc social groups and the guest personal mobile communication deviceis set to participate in ad hoc social groups.
 15. The vehicle of claim14, wherein the extension circuitry is configured to enable both theguest personal mobile communication device and the passenger personalmobile communication device to interact with the ad hoc social group bypresenting the guest personal mobile communication device and thepassenger personal mobile communication device to the ad hoc social asonly the vehicle such that communications sent from the guest personalmobile communication device appear to the ad hoc social group in a samemanner as communications sent from the passenger personal mobilecommunication device to the ad hoc social group.
 16. The vehicle ofclaim 14, wherein the extension circuitry is configured to enable boththe guest personal mobile communication device and the passengerpersonal mobile communication device to interact with the ad hoc socialgroup by presenting the guest personal mobile communication device andthe passenger personal mobile communication device to the ad hoc socialas separate devices within the vehicle such that communications sentfrom the guest personal mobile communication device appear to the ad hocsocial group in a different manner than communications sent from thepassenger personal mobile communication device to the ad hoc socialgroup.
 17. The vehicle of claim 1: wherein the in-pavement vehicledetection system is a first in-pavement vehicle detection system of afirst type; wherein the ad hoc social group is a first ad hoc socialgroup; wherein the extension circuitry is configured to enable thepassenger personal mobile communication device to interact with the adhoc social group by determining that the first in-pavement vehicledetection system has the first type and enabling the passenger personalmobile communication device to interact with the first ad hoc socialgroup based on the determination that the first in-pavement vehicledetection system has the first type; and wherein the extension circuitryis further configured to: detect the ability to communicate with asecond in-pavement vehicle detection system of a second type, the secondin-pavement vehicle detection system being different than the firstin-pavement vehicle detection system and the second type being differentthan the first type; based on detection of the ability to communicatewith the second in-pavement vehicle detection system, add, in accordancewith the current vehicle settings, the vehicle to a second ad hoc socialgroup that includes multiple vehicles simultaneously connected to thesecond in-pavement vehicle detection system through road contacttransceivers; determine that the second in-pavement vehicle detectionsystem has the second type; and enable the guest personal mobilecommunication device to interact with the second ad hoc social groupbased on the determination that the second in-pavement vehicle detectionsystem has the second type.
 18. The vehicle of claim 17: wherein theextension circuitry is configured to enable the passenger personalmobile communication device to interact with the first ad hoc socialgroup by generating a first interface appropriate for interacting withthe first ad hoc social group based on capabilities of the firstin-pavement vehicle detection system and sending, to the passengerpersonal mobile communication device through at least one of the one ormore wireless transceivers, the generated first interface; and whereinthe extension circuitry is configured to enable the guest personalmobile communication device to interact with the second ad hoc socialgroup by generating a second interface appropriate for interacting withthe second ad hoc social group based on capabilities of the secondin-pavement vehicle detection system and sending, to the guest personalmobile communication device through at least one of the one or morewireless transceivers, the generated second interface, which isdifferent than the first interface.
 19. A method comprising: detecting,by extension circuitry, a guest personal mobile communication devicethat is positioned to wirelessly communicate with at least one of one ormore wireless transceivers, wherein: the guest personal mobilecommunication device is a communication device of a guest user that isattempting to use a vehicle, the one or more wireless transceivers arelocated in the vehicle and are configured to communicate with personalmobile communication devices that are located within a passengercompartment of the vehicle, the extension circuitry is electricallyconnected to one or more road contact transceivers and the one or morewireless transceivers, the extension circuitry is configured to managecommunications between the one or more road contact transceivers, theone or more wireless transceivers, in-pavement vehicle detectionsystems, and personal mobile communication devices, the one or more roadcontact transceivers are arranged so that at least one of the one ormore road contact transceivers is within a predetermined distance froman in-pavement vehicle detection system based on rotatable wheels of thevehicle being located on pavement at a position above the in-pavementvehicle detection system, and the one or more road contact transceiversare configured to transmit information to and receive information fromthe in-pavement vehicle detection system based on at least one of theone or more road contact transceivers being within the predetermineddistance from the in-pavement vehicle detection system; based ondetection of the guest personal mobile communication device, monitoring,by the extension circuitry, for presence of an owner personal mobilecommunication device in position to wirelessly communicate with at leastone of the one or more wireless transceivers, the owner personal mobilecommunication device having been registered to the extension circuitryas a device that is able to use the vehicle and authorize guests to usethe vehicle; based on the monitoring for presence of the owner personalmobile communication device, detecting, by the extension circuitry, theowner personal mobile communication device in position to wirelesslycommunicate with at least one of the one or more wireless transceivers;based on detection of the owner personal mobile communication device,authorizing, by the extension circuitry, use of the vehicle by the guestpersonal mobile communication device and receiving, from the guestpersonal mobile communication device through at least one of the one ormore wireless transceivers, guest vehicle settings stored by the guestpersonal mobile communication device, the guest vehicle settingsdefining preferences of the guest user for settings associated with useof the vehicle and settings associated with communications exchangedwith in-pavement vehicle detection systems by the guest personal mobilecommunication device; after authorization of use of the vehicle by theguest personal mobile communication device, detecting, by the extensioncircuitry, a passenger personal mobile communication device that ispositioned to wirelessly communicate with at least one of the one ormore wireless transceivers, the passenger personal mobile communicationdevice being a communication device of a passenger user who is locatedin the passenger compartment of the vehicle; based on detection of thepassenger personal mobile communication device, receiving, from thepassenger personal mobile communication device through at least one ofthe one or more wireless transceivers, passenger vehicle settings storedby the passenger personal mobile communication device, the passengervehicle settings defining preferences of the passenger user for settingsassociated with use of the vehicle and settings associated withcommunications exchanged with in-pavement vehicle detection systems bythe passenger personal mobile communication device; accessing, fromelectronic storage, vehicle rules that define permissible settings forthe vehicle, the accessed vehicle rules having been defined based oncommunication with the owner personal mobile communication devicethrough at least one of the one or more wireless transceivers;evaluating, by the extension circuitry, the received guest vehiclesettings and the received passenger vehicle settings with respect to theaccessed vehicle rules; based on the evaluation, determining, by theextension circuitry, current vehicle settings for settings associatedwith use of the vehicle by the guest user and the passenger user andsettings associated with communications exchanged with in-pavementvehicle detection systems by the guest personal mobile communicationdevice and the passenger personal mobile communication device, thecurrent vehicle settings meeting a subset of the preferences of theguest user and a subset of the preferences of the passenger user;monitoring, by the extension circuitry, for an ability to connect withthe in-pavement vehicle detection system through at least one of the oneor more road contact transceivers, the in-pavement vehicle detectionsystem being able to simultaneously connect with multiple vehiclesthrough road contact transceivers; based on the monitoring for theability to communicate with the in-pavement vehicle detection system,detecting, by the extension circuitry, the ability to communicate withthe in-pavement vehicle detection system; based on detection of theability to communicate with the in-pavement vehicle detection system,adding, by the extension circuitry and in accordance with the currentvehicle settings, the vehicle to an ad hoc social group that includesthe multiple vehicles simultaneously connected to the in-pavementvehicle detection system through road contact transceivers; based on thecurrent vehicle settings, enabling, by the extension circuitry, thepassenger personal mobile communication device to interact with the adhoc social group without revealing identifying information associatedwith the passenger personal mobile communication device; andautomatically, without user intervention, disconnecting, by theextension circuitry, from the ad hoc social group based on the vehiclemoving to a position in which the one or more road contact transceiversare outside of the predetermined distance from the in-pavement vehicledetection system.
 20. At least one non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium encoded with at least one computer program comprisinginstructions that, when executed, operate to cause a computer to performoperations comprising: detecting, a guest personal mobile communicationdevice that is positioned to wirelessly communicate with at least one ofone or more wireless transceivers, wherein: the guest personal mobilecommunication device is a communication device of a guest user that isattempting to use a vehicle, the one or more wireless transceivers arelocated in the vehicle and are configured to communicate with personalmobile communication devices that are located within a passengercompartment of the vehicle, the one or more road contact transceiversare arranged so that at least one of the one or more road contacttransceivers is within a predetermined distance from an in-pavementvehicle detection system based on rotatable wheels of the vehicle beinglocated on pavement at a position above the in-pavement vehicledetection system, and the one or more road contact transceivers areconfigured to transmit information to and receive information from thein-pavement vehicle detection system based on at least one of the one ormore road contact transceivers being within the predetermined distancefrom the in-pavement vehicle detection system; based on detection of theguest personal mobile communication device, monitoring for presence ofan owner personal mobile communication device in position to wirelesslycommunicate with at least one of the one or more wireless transceivers,the owner personal mobile communication device having been registered asa device that is able to use the vehicle and authorize guests to use thevehicle; based on the monitoring for presence of the owner personalmobile communication device, detecting the owner personal mobilecommunication device in position to wirelessly communicate with at leastone of the one or more wireless transceivers; based on detection of theowner personal mobile communication device, authorizing use of thevehicle by the guest personal mobile communication device and receiving,from the guest personal mobile communication device through at least oneof the one or more wireless transceivers, guest vehicle settings storedby the guest personal mobile communication device, the guest vehiclesettings defining preferences of the guest user for settings associatedwith use of the vehicle and settings associated with communicationsexchanged with in-pavement vehicle detection systems by the guestpersonal mobile communication device; after authorization of use of thevehicle by the guest personal mobile communication device, detecting apassenger personal mobile communication device that is positioned towirelessly communicate with at least one of the one or more wirelesstransceivers, the passenger personal mobile communication device being acommunication device of a passenger user who is located in the passengercompartment of the vehicle; based on detection of the passenger personalmobile communication device, receiving, from the passenger personalmobile communication device through at least one of the one or morewireless transceivers, passenger vehicle settings stored by thepassenger personal mobile communication device, the passenger vehiclesettings defining preferences of the passenger user for settingsassociated with use of the vehicle and settings associated withcommunications exchanged with in-pavement vehicle detection systems bythe passenger personal mobile communication device; accessing, fromelectronic storage, vehicle rules that define permissible settings forthe vehicle, the accessed vehicle rules having been defined based oncommunication with the owner personal mobile communication devicethrough at least one of the one or more wireless transceivers;evaluating the received guest vehicle settings and the receivedpassenger vehicle settings with respect to the accessed vehicle rules;based on the evaluation, determining current vehicle settings forsettings associated with use of the vehicle by the guest user and thepassenger user and settings associated with communications exchangedwith in-pavement vehicle detection systems by the guest personal mobilecommunication device and the passenger personal mobile communicationdevice, the current vehicle settings meeting a subset of the preferencesof the guest user and a subset of the preferences of the passenger user;monitoring for an ability to connect with the in-pavement vehicledetection system through at least one of the one or more road contacttransceivers, the in-pavement vehicle detection system being able tosimultaneously connect with multiple vehicles through road contacttransceivers; based on the monitoring for the ability to communicatewith the in-pavement vehicle detection system, detecting the ability tocommunicate with the in-pavement vehicle detection system; based ondetection of the ability to communicate with the in-pavement vehicledetection system, adding, in accordance with the current vehiclesettings, the vehicle to an ad hoc social group that includes themultiple vehicles simultaneously connected to the in-pavement vehicledetection system through road contact transceivers; based on the currentvehicle settings, enabling the passenger personal mobile communicationdevice to interact with the ad hoc social group without revealingidentifying information associated with the passenger personal mobilecommunication device; and automatically, without user intervention,disconnecting from the ad hoc social group based on the vehicle movingto a position in which the one or more road contact transceivers areoutside of the predetermined distance from the in-pavement vehicledetection system.